Tory MPs are plotting to force a referendum on the EU's Lisbon Treaty within months, setting up the first test of the coalition Government's uneasy truce on Europe.
Backbencher Douglas Carswell, he of the face like a melted welly, revealed that he and other Eurosceptic Conservatives hope to take advantage of a technical change to the treaty to force a public vote. The Foreign Office confirmed yesterday that plans for a minor increase in the number of MEPs would require a change in the law in this country.
Mr Carswell said this might provide a chance to revive a Tory pledge to hold a referendum on the controversial treaty which handed a raft of fresh powers to Brussels. Any move to force a referendum would place huge strain on the relationship between pro-European Liberal Democrats and their largely Eurosceptic Tory coalition partners. It would also create a headache for David Cameron, who attempted to play down Europe as an issue during the election campaign after dropping his 'cast-iron' pledge to hold a referendum after the treaty was ratified last year.
Let's see if 'call me Dave' really has the courage of his conviction or is he just another EU luvvie. I KNOW WHERE MY MONEY WILL BE LYING!
6 comments:
DL
You don’t often see the words “Cameron” and “conviction” in the same sentence, though frankly he deserves to be convicted for crimes against democracy.
We have just got rid of one sleaze infested government and replaced it with another whose first task is to change the constitution preventing it from being thrown out of office for 5 years. For fuck's sake, not even Stalin tried anything like that!
I wouldn't trust Cameron as far as I could throw him, DL, especially as the Tory negotiators of the ConDem-Nation pact asked the Limp Dumbs to veto the repatriation of powers from Brussels. However, if the Right-wing of the party do manage to manipulate/manhandle him into giving us our referendum, we know exactly what the answer would be - a resounding 80% NO, after which the Tories could march straight back into government with a very healthy majority should either Cameron have the balls to call an election or Clegg's lot force him to call one by dissolving the coalition.
Honourable Fred, yes a bit of a naughty procedure and one which I have a great deal of disquiet about. Indeed if Labour had done it, I would have been advocating taking to the treets in protest!
Spidey, I'm not sure that there would be as high a vote against the EU. Those of us who are politically aware would vote against probably in a 80/20 split but the great vast of the unwashed out there can be manipulated anywhich way. Labour and the Libthingies would probably campaign to stay in with only the bulk of the Tories and obviously UKIP, who are Tories anyway, against.
It's good to know that this previously little known window of opportunity for the Eurosceptics has now got into the mainstream but Cameron will slap his beackbenchers down because few of them will wish to force another election so soon.
Banned, I'm not actually convinced the country would vote to leave Europe. I haven't seen any opinion polls recently but my hunch is that it would be very close.
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