A Note on David Atkinson

On the 15th December 2000, Sean Gabb wrote asking these questions:

1. If you are at the relevant time a Member of Parliament, do you undertake to use all available parliamentary means to secure a referendum on the Treaty of Nice?

2. If such a referendum is not called, do you further undertake to vote against ratification of the Treaty of Nice on its third reading in the House of Commons?

On the 2nd January 2001, Mr Atkinson wrote as follows:

Dear Dr Gabb,

In response to your letter of the 15th December, of course I would be looking to support my Party's leadership on the two issue to which you have referred about any Treaty of Nice.

Yours sincerely,

David Atkinson MP


Sean Gabb comments: 

I do not regard this as a straight answer. On an issue so important as the Nice Treaty, indirect answers that fail to criticise what was done at Nice will not usually do.