THIS week has seen the second reading of the Referendum Bill, which is something many people have been looking forward to for a very long time.

The opportunity to vote on whether to remain part of a reformed EU or to leave is a defining moment – and significantly overdue.

The Prime Minister is conducting meetings with as many European leaders as possible to establish the scope and grounds for reform.

In particular, he is focused on making the EU more accountable to national parliaments and to on releasing us from the concept of an ‘ever closer union’, which was enshrined in the treaty but is no longer right for us.

Liberating our businesses from EU generated red tape, permitting our justice system to operate without unnecessary interference and allowing freedom of movement to take work, not to take benefits, are all rightly high on the agenda.

For my own part, although I have a long track record as a Eurosceptic, my instinct is to hope, when the renegotiations are concluded, I hope that I will feel able to vote to remain in a significantly reformed EU.

I hope to see a radically different EU that recognises our common bonds around security and trade but is less prescriptive and leaves room for different ideas about how society should be run.

Much of the frustration I hear stems from the inflexible and binding nature of EU regulations and the way in which they are ‘gold-plated’ by the UK government. This must stop.

The outcome of this legislation is that everyone will have the chance to weigh up the reforms on the table and to have their say.

I hope we will have an informed debate that will properly address public opinion and that the option of pulling out will also be thoroughly examined – with both the risks and the opportunities for UK businesses fully understood. What I do not want is to see discussion of the EU – though important – dominating the agenda to the exclusion of all else.

To me, the principal focus must remain bringing down the deficit and creating the conditions for continued prosperity in the UK and economic development in south Wiltshire. That is the real key to enabling us to build better lives for ourselves.