The EU referendum must be seen to be fair

For many of those who voted 40 years ago to remain in the Common Market, the idea that people would be free to move from one country to another as they chose might have seemed fanciful. Today, a vastly expanded European Union, comprising 28 members, means that some 500 million people – together with those in four associate nations – can go where they want within its bounds.

As Theresa May, the Home Secretary, pointed out this week, the original intention of the free movement principle enshrined in the founding treaty was to enable people to work in another country. This has been stretched over the years by various directives and regulations and it is now possible to travel to another member state to look for work. Mrs May said this should only be allowed if a job has already been found, though she acknowledged the obvious difficulty in her suggestion: other countries would have to agree to change the rules for the EU as a whole.

Immigration will be the central issue of the referendum campaign, so is it possible that the UK could be granted special status to bolster Mr Cameron’s case for staying in? The auguries are not good. When Switzerland, which is not a member of the EU but part of the free movement area, voted last year to mandate their government to negotiate tighter rules to limit immigration, they were told that there would be no discussion of the matter. There is now, naturally, talk of the classic European option: another referendum, but this time one that delivers the correct answer.

The refusal of the EU to consider a more flexible approach on immigration makes it essential that our referendum here is as open and as neutral as possible. The Government, however, wants to suspend the “purdah” rules for the duration of the campaign, which would normally prevent any official intervention on behalf of one side or another. Despite a rebellion by some eurosceptic Tories, Ministers won a vote on this during the passage of the Referendum Bill before the Commons recess./Agencies