Constituents have a right to vote on EU - rebel MP

Mar 7 2008 by Tomos Livingstone, Western Mail

Should we have a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty?

Should we have a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty? Shadow Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillan and Foreign Secretary David Miliband give their views

Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, Cheryl Gillan MP
The case for a referendum rests on the need for Government to honour commitments solemnly given to the electorate. It is about trust in politicians and political parties.

Before the last General Election all parties promised a referendum on proposals that will bring about fundamental changes to the way our country is governed.

People all over Britain want the referendum they were promised at the last election. Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats have broken that promise.

By breaking his promise Gordon Brown has shown that he doesn’t care about the British people.

By breaking his promise Nick Clegg has shown he is a weak leader of a party which has lost its direction and purpose.

People from all walks of life and from across the political spectrum have called on Gordon Brown to honour the commitment he made to the British people. He has no democratic mandate to introduce this treaty, which is essentially the same as the EU Constitution, without such a referendum.

Gordon Brown knows full-well this treaty surrenders key powers from Britain to Brussels.

He knows this treaty weakens one of the greatest strengths of the European Union – its commitment to undistorted competition in the Single Market. It is not about making Europe more competitive. It does the opposite.

He knows this treaty paves the way for fundamental changes in the institutional structure of the European Union. And he knows that if he holds this referendum he will lose it.

Conservatives have been consistent in our demands for a referendum on this treaty. We will continue to argue the case. People are being denied a vote on this treaty because of a betrayal by Gordon Brown’s Labour Party and the weakness and indecision from Nick Clegg’ leadership of the Liberal Democrats.

David Miliband, Foreign Secretary
In our system of government, we do not have a legal test for whether we should hold a referendum, but we do have a clear principle, based on precedent and for many years supported by all the main political parties.

Where there is a shift in power of a fundamental nature, it must be put to the people.

The central question is whether the Treaty of Lisbon represents a fundamental shift in the balance of power between the nation state – and this nation state in particular – and the European Union. If it does, there should be a referendum; if it does not, there should not be one.

Referendums were held on devolution in the case of the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly precisely because they changed the distribution of power in this country.

A proposal to join the euro would also shift power, so a referendum would be necessary. It must be the content of the treaty that determines whether we should have a referendum.

Every Government and leader in Europe has recognised that the constitution has been abandoned. The Prime Minister has never said that the Lisbon Treaty is the same as the constitution. The reason he has not said it is because it is not the case.

There is no power in the treaty for new tax-raising powers for the European Union. There is no replacement of the UK seat on the UN Security Council.

There is no danger of French police stalking the streets of London. There is no risk of unwanted changes to our social security system. All those allegations have been made in the course of these debates.

The Conservative party has a fundamental problem: 18 years after Mrs Thatcher’s departure from office, it is still haunted by the Thatcherite policy on Europe, and 16 years after Maastricht, the rebels on the fringes of the party are now calling the shots.”