In 1994, Britain’s Tory government mulled its first ‘BREXIT’ referendum, but couldn’t agree on question – British Classified Documents
4352 Mins Read
John Major’s ministers considered holding a referendum about the European Union in 1994 but could not decide what the question would be, official cabinet records reveal.
Faced with mounting Eurosceptic pressure, the prime minister at the time moved to prevent opposition to Brussels from building up. His officials even tried rewriting some of Margaret Thatcher’s increasingly critical speeches.
According to files released at the National Archives in Kew, the cabinet met on December 1 that year and noted: “Attention was drawn to the need for government to take a consistent line in response to renewed speculation about a referendum on European Union issues.
“Suggestions had been made that referendums should be held on two issues, the 1996 intergovernmental conference and adoption of a single currency. A referendum should not be ruled out. New guidance would be circulated in the near future to ensure that cabinet members spoke consistently on the question of a referendum.”
Frustration at the complexity of the subject, even within Whitehall, is evident from a comment left by an unnamed official or minister on a Foreign Office note explaining the reasons for the name European Union being used instead of European Community. “Clear as mud,” it read.
In 1993, ministers battled each other over proposals to move on to what was known as “single/double summer time” to align with the central European time zone.
Michael Heseltine, the former trade and industry secretary, supported the proposal. But William Waldegrave, chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster at the time, warned it might strengthen Eurosceptics.
