Brown to miss EU treaty ceremony

[Steve Gardner]

Gordon Brown is about as lame as they come. Riddled by sleaze from virtually the moment he assumed office, he's now effectively backed out of a committment to offer the UK public a referendum on the EU Constitution. And, in a display of political pusillanimity, he won't even be seen signing it.

Coward.

For all his faults - and as much as I disagreed with the vast majority of what he did and stood for - at least Tony Blair had a bit of backbone.

Source: BBC

Prime Minister Gordon Brown will miss the official signing of the EU treaty, but will travel to Lisbon and sign it later, Downing Street has said.

No 10 says the PM will not be able to attend the ceremony because he is to be grilled by a committee of senior MPs.

But he will leave London straight after the Commons liaison committee hearing and join EU heads of government at lunch and then sign the treaty.

The Tories accused him of "not having the guts" to sign the treaty in public.

The EU Reform treaty has proved politically controversial, with the Tories arguing that it is substantially the same as the abandoned EU Constitution, on which a referendum was promised by Labour.

Constitution rejected

But the government says the two documents are different, making a public vote on the treaty unnecessary.

Mr Brown has been invited to Lisbon by the Portuguese government - which holds the EU presidency - along with the leaders of the other 26 EU member states.

The new treaty is planned to replace the failed EU constitution, rejected by voters in France and the Netherlands in 2005.

Once it is signed, the treaty still has to be ratified by the UK and all other member countries before coming into force.

It creates a permanent EU president, a legal personality for the union and a high representative for foreign affairs, while also reducing the number of commissioners to streamline procedures in an enlarged EU of 27 states.

Elements of statehood such as a flag and an official anthem are not in the binding part of the treaty.

'Not significant'

But 16 member states have added their own non-binding declaration that the blue EU flag, the anthem based on the "Ode to Joy" from the Ninth Symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven, the motto "United in diversity" and Europe Day on 9 May "will continue as symbols to express the sense of community of the people in the EU".

The Conservatives say there should be a referendum on the treaty before the UK agrees to it.

In a Commons debate on the EU, shadow foreign secretary William Hague said: "Ministers have neither the courage to fight a referendum nor the courage and honour to keep their own promise of a referendum.

"Once again they are happy to treat the people of this country like fools."

Both Mr Brown and his predecessor Tony Blair, have said the new treaty protects Britain's so-called red line issues on human and social rights, foreign policy and tax and benefits.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband is expected to sign the treaty on the UK's behalf during the official signing ceremony on Thursday.

That happens at the same time as Mr Brown will give evidence to the Commons Liaison Committee - which brings together chairmen of 31 Commons committees - for the first time as prime minister.

The prime minister's spokesman said Mr Brown's lack of presence for the ceremony was "not a particularly significant issue" as previous EU treaties had been signed by foreign secretaries on behalf of the UK.

Mr Miliband told the Commons: "All of the details [of the treaty] will be very, very carefully scrutinised [by Parliament].

"Time will be given for all, for all opinions to be registered and for the detail to be exposed and debated."

Lib Dem foreign affairs spokesman Mark Hunter said the treaty would make the EU "a more effective and efficient" institution, and more accountable.

But he added: "We will be seeking to table an amendment which calls for a referendum to be held, not on the dry technical details of the treaty but on the real issue: whether it's a good idea for the UK to stay in or out.

"In or out, it's time we sorted it out."

[Steve Gardner]

As if it were ever in any doubt...

Source: BBC

Parts of the Lisbon Treaty, signed by Gordon Brown last month, are no different from the abandoned EU Constitution, a report by MPs has said.

The Commons Foreign Affairs Committee said foreign policy in the treaty was the same as in the constitution, on which Labour promised a referendum.

It also accused the government of publicly downplaying the importance of some new EU institutions and roles.

Ministers argue no referendum is needed as the treaty is not constitutional.

In an interview on BBC One's Politics Show, Foreign Secretary David Miliband maintained the treaty did not need to be put to a public vote.

"The reform treaty is there for parliament to scrutinise and then to pass," he said.

"Obviously people will put down an amendment and Parliament will have to decide. But I don't believe that this treaty meets the bar of fundamental constitutional reform that should be the basis of having a referendum."

'Restoring trust'

But shadow foreign secretary William Hague, speaking on BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend, said the treaty was widely seen as being "90% or 95% the same" as the failed EU constitution, on which all parties had promised a vote.

"I see it as a very straightforward issue of trust in politics. And one of the ways of restoring trust in politics is to hold that referendum," said Mr Hague.

Mr Brown signed the Lisbon Treaty, as did other EU heads of state, in December. But it has to be ratified by all EU parliaments, before coming into force - something which begins in Westminster on Monday.

But ahead of the start of the process, the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee has criticised the way the government has represented the foreign policy aspects of the treaty.

Its report, entitled Foreign Policy Aspects Of The Treaty Of Lisbon, claims there are only two small differences in the area of foreign policy between the treaty and the abandoned constitution.

These were the addition of two non-legally binding declarations proposed by the UK and the change of the title Minister for Foreign Affairs to High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

"We conclude that there is no material difference between the provisions on foreign affairs in the Constitutional Treaty which the government made subject to approval in a referendum and those in the Lisbon Treaty on which a referendum is being denied," the report said.

'Not beneficial'

It also accused the government of seeking to downplay the significance of new institutions, such as the creation of a new EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security.

This was "unlikely to be beneficial to the UK's position in Europe", it said, and called on ministers to acknowledge their true significance in public.

The report welcomed the creation of such new roles, which it said were "major innovations in the EU's foreign policy-making machinery" which could give the EU a "more coherent development and implementation of external policy".

But Mike Gapes, the committee's chairman, said MPs felt Parliament needed to have more say in the treaty's development.

"Parliament has not been sufficiently involved in the negotiation and the drafting of these proposals last year," he told the BBC.

"We believe that over the next few weeks [in] the Parliamentary debate we have, we need to press for greater Parliamentary accountability over the implementation and the carrying out of this treaty in practice in the coming years, if it is adopted."

Mr Brown has argued that no referendum in the UK is needed on the Lisbon Treaty because it does not have the constitutional character of the constitutional document which was rejected by French and Dutch voters at referendums in 2005.

But he is expected to face a rough ride in the Commons with the Conservatives and some Labour MPs expected to press for a referendum.

The Lib Dems will not be pushing for a referendum on the treaty, arguing that any vote should be about Britain's membership of the EU instead.

Labour MP Ian Davidson, who will campaign for a referendum, said: "This is the start of the battle, rather than the end of the war.

"We hope to get our message out to people in the country who will in turn tell their MPs that they do want a referendum so that by the time we come to the next vote in the committee stage, the pressure will very much have built up."

Giving his reaction to the Foreign Affairs Committee report, UKIP leader Nigel Farage, who has opposed the constitution in the European Parliament, said there was now "no reason for the government to duck out of their pledge".

[Steve Gardner]

So this is how we're governed in this country.

• A new European Treaty is proposed
  
• Several member countries, including the UK, promise a referendum on the adoption of the Treaty
  
• Two other countries hold referendums and reject the Treaty
  
• The Treaty is abandoned
  
• A new Treaty is drafted
  
• It is said to be substantively the same as the one that was abandoned
  
• The new Prime Minister signed this Treaty (without having the balls to be seen doing so)
  
• The current government now rejects calls for a referendum

Who are these clowns? Who interests are they supposed to represent?

Clearly, the overwhelming majority of UK citizens want a referendum. I strongly suspect they will also reject it.

So I ask again: who interests are these clowns supposed to represent?

Source: BBC

Some 88% of the British public want a referendum on the EU's Lisbon Treaty, according to private polls for the I Want a Referendum (IWAR) campaign.

The unofficial ballot was conducted by postal vote last month in 10 Labour and Liberal Democrat marginal seats.

A total of 152,520 people voted, with 133,251 backing a referendum. IWAR claims the turnout is higher than that in local council elections.

Higher education minister Bill Rammell dismissed the poll as "flawed".

IWAR sent 420,000 ballot papers to voters on the publicly-available part of the electoral roll, and says turnout was 36.2% of those on the register.

Constituencies where the mini-referendums were held included those of Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly, Europe Minister Jim Murphy and Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne.

'Real questions'

Mr Rammell said the turnout figure in his Harlow constituency where a vote was held was "lower than any local government election that I have ever participated in."

"There are some real questions to be answered by the organisers," he told BBC1's Politics Show.

"Why 10 Labour and Liberal Democrat marginal constituencies? Why not one referendum in (Tory former chancellor) Ken Clarke's constituency, who is arguing against a referendum?"

Derek Scott, former Downing Street aide and chairman of IWAR, said: "We have taken the most up-to-date and the only publicly-available register there is and on that basis it is a very substantial turnout.

"There is no reason to suppose that people who have not been sent ballot papers... would be any different.

"There is a very significant number of people across the country who want a referendum."

'Broken' pledge

IWAR is backed by Labour former ministers Kate Hoey and Frank Field and Lib Dem Mike Hancock, but has faced Labour accusations it is a Tory front rather than a genuinely cross-party organisation.

It says it only campaigned against Labour and Lib Dem MPs in marginal seats because both parties broke their pledge to hold a referendum.

The poll was carried out by Electoral Reform Services, a firm of independent election scrutineers recognised by the government and the UN.

Respondents were asked whether the UK should hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, with 88% voting 'yes'. They were also asked if the UK should approve the treaty and 89% voted against.

The result comes ahead of a Commons vote on Wednesday on a Conservative amendment to the EU Treaty Bill, calling for a referendum.

The Lisbon Treaty, also known as the EU Reform Treaty, was drawn up to replace the EU Constitution, which was abandoned in 2005 after being rejected by Dutch and French voters.

Commons vote

Ministers say it only amends the EU's existing constitution and a referendum is therefore no longer needed.

But the Tories, UKIP, SNP, Plaid Cymru, DUP and various groups, including IWAR, say the two documents are substantially the same and that the public must have a say.

Some Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs also back a public vote. The Lib Dem leadership wants a referendum on the wider question of Britain's membership of the EU.

Welcoming the result, Ms Hoey said: "All MPs should now take note, listen to their constituents and vote for a referendum on Wednesday."

Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party said: "If Parliament continues to ignore the wishes of the people, as shown by these votes in just 10 constituencies, it becomes clear that to remain legitimate the Government must grant us a poll in all 646 constituencies."