Ahead of the vote on an amendment to the Queen's Speech this afternoon, regretting the omission of Government legislation on an EU referendum, Dr Fox comments:
"The Prime Minister has promised an In/Out referendum following a renegotiation of our relationship with the EU, if the Conservatives win the next election. That is the right course for Britain.
We now have a draft Referendum Bill which I welcome. It cannot be a Government Bill because our coalition partners, the Lib Dems, will not agree to one so it, therefore, has to be a Private Members Bill.
We need to ensure that this new Bill is passed into law. This process will smoke out those who want to deny the British people a say in their own future. I will certainly support it. There is nothing to be gained from voting against the Queen’s Speech now that we have the latest proposals.
I believe that the Conservative Party can win the next general election, but to gain a strong majority, we need to be united. If we fail to do this, the British people will be given no voice at all."