After many years of arguing, debating and campaigning, the bill to bring about a referendum on our membership of the EU is finally under way. Already the arguments about who can say what when have begun, and to be honest, I find these rather hollow arguments.
The whole process, from this week's second reading of the referendum bill to the final count of the referendum before Christmas 2017 falls broadly into three sections.
The first part is for the referendum to be put in place. The current bill looks at the question, timing, voting age and a range of issues. That was government policy and was part of the Conservative manifesto so it is subject to a three line whip and what is known as collective responsibility - the concept that all members of the government (which I am not) is bound to follow the government policy. Frankly, I'm not sure anyone would argue with giving the people of these islands the right to have a say in a referendum and the opposition parties have swung through 180 degrees from their election positions to be supportive of the vote.
The second part of the process is that of renegotiating our position within Europe. This addresses contentious issues such as free movement of people across the union, the aim of ever closer union and other issues such as red tape, employment law and other more technical details. Whilst there is no vote in parliament on this, it is subject to the concept of collective responsibility and so government ministers are duty bound to support the efforts of the government to secure a better settlement.
The final part of the process is the referendum itself. Once the Referendum Bill becomes an Act, the debate as to whether we should stay or go comes into its own. There is no stated government line on this and as I understand it, ministers will be allowed to campaign on either side of the argument, depending on their beliefs and their interpretation of the arguments being put forward. Some want to stay; others want to leave. What is important is to have an intelligent, informed debate on our EU membership. This is incredibly important and the outcome of this debate will determine the future of this country whatever side wins the argument. It will be an important decision and I look forward to us playing our part here in Wyre Forest.