Last chance for a referendum in Britain
Thursday, 5 June 2008
There are three key events next week that are absolutely crucial for Britain’s future relationship with the EU.
The first is Stuart Wheeler’s judicial review to be heard on Monday, 9 June and Tuesday, 10 June in the High Court. The review concerns the Government’s decision to break its promise of a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, which Mr. Wheeler claims is effectively the same as the EU Constitution. The case is considered so important that the hearing will be in front of a divisional court, with two judges, one of whom will be Lord Justice Richards, the Court of Appeals specialist on European matters. Mr. Wheeler was granted the judicial review on 2 May when the Hon Mr. Justice Owen, referring to the Lisbon Treaty and the Constitution, ruled that “it is plainly arguable that there is no material difference between their provisions”.
The second concerns the vote on Wednesday, 11 June in the House of Lords on whether the government should be forced to honour its referendum pledge. While the Government continue to repeat its face-saving refrain that the Treaty of Lisbon is different in “form” from the Constitutional Treaty, it has now accepted in exchanges between the Lord President, Baroness Ashton, and Lord Blackwell that there are only a small number of significant differences between the resulting texts (notes to editors, note 5). The primary issue in the House of Lords is whether crossbench peers will join with the opposition to uphold the government’s obligation to honour its manifesto pledge regardless of their views on the Treaty itself. In a farcical about turn, having abstained in the House of Commons, Liberal Democrats have decided to whip their peers to vote against a referendum in the Lords.
The third relates to the referendum on the Lisbon Treaty to be held in the Irish Republic, the only one of the 27 EU countries permitted a referendum on the treaty, on 12 June. The result should be announced on Friday, 13 June.
Ruth Lea, Director of Global Vision, said:
“Next week is a vital one for the future of the country in the EU. If Stuart Wheeler is successful in his judicial review, the British people will be given their promised referendum on the Treaty. Similarly, if the Lords vote for a referendum, this opens up the real possibility of a referendum. And finally, if the Irish people were to vote “no” to the Lisbon Treaty, this would surely, at the very least, hold up the enforcement of the Treaty and could possibly lead to a period of reflection.”
Lord Blackwell, Chairman of Global Vision, said:
“This is a critical time for Peers on all sides of the House of Lords to demonstrate that they are prepared to hold the Government to the promises they make to the people of this country. All the opinion polls demonstrate that the electorate want a referendum and believe they have been promised one. It is obvious to everyone that the Lisbon Treaty text is almost identical to the Constitutional Treaty. For the government to play with words to wriggle out of their commitment is hugely damaging to trust in democracy.”
More information:
1). On 5 March 2008 the House of Commons turned down a Conservative amendment to the EU Treaty Bill (The “European Union (Amendment) Bill”), which called for a referendum, by a narrow majority of 311 votes to 248, a margin of just 63. The “European Union (Amendment) Bill” paves the way for UK ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed on 13 December 2007.
2). If the House of Lords votes to make ratification of the Treaty conditional upon a referendum, the matter would then pass back to the House of Commons to reconsider. The House of Commons would not be able to over-ride the House of Lords unless the Government used the Parliament Act to enforce its will, which would involve a delay of over 12 months.
3). Global Vision is a non-partisan campaign group backed by economists and business leaders that argues for a looser British relationship with the EU, based on free trade and mutually beneficial cooperation, whilst opting out of economic and political union. Global Vision believes that this is the right relationship for Britain in the 21st century’s rapidly changing world. For more details on Global Vision please visit our website: www.global-vision.net.