The LibDems, as everyone knows, are calling for a referendum on the EU rather than a referendum on the EU Treaty.  Needless to say their call for such a referendum has met fierce opposition.  But here’s the thing: what’s so wrong with giving people the opportunity to express their opinion?

As I’ve said before anyone who argues against such a referendum is doing so because they believe the side that agrees with them would lose the vote.  Of course they never frame their argument in those terms, but ultimately that’s the position from which their argument stems.

But isn’t it equally true that those who argue for a referendum are doing so because they believe their side will win?  Well, yes… absolutely.

But there’s a key difference:  those who argue against a referendum are also implicitly arguing against democracy, those who argue for a referendum are overtly arguing for democracy.  It doesn’t take much to see which side is more virtuous.