Posted by Anthony @ 20:46 BST
Patrick Hennessy and Melissa Kite
London Telegraph
Sunday June 10, 2007
Labour has been plunged into a bruising referendum row after Tony Blair secretly agreed the blueprint for a new European treaty – presenting Gordon Brown, the prime minister-in-waiting, with his first big dilemma.
Less than three weeks before he relinquishes power, Mr Blair held talks on the framework for the treaty, an updated version of the failed European Union constitution, with Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president.
The controversial manoeuvre, at the G8 summit in Germany, came despite a promise to MPs by Margaret Beckett, the Foreign Secretary, that “nothing you could really call negotiations” had taken place.
As MPs protested that the new treaty would include many measures contained in the EU constitution that was shelved after being voted down by the French and Dutch electorates in 2005, David Cameron led calls for a fresh referendum.
Does Brown have a doctrine for Britain?
Philip Johnston analyses the thinking of Britain’s next Prime Minister.
The road to Number 10
Brown urged to close ‘terror flights’ loophole
Chancellor orders 2012 cost check
Brown under pressure over EU treaty
When “no” means “no”
A few years ago, the various governments got together to draw up a new treaty putting in place a European Constitution which would further erode national sovereignty of the member states and further integrate the member states into a European superstate.
Two member states had the decency to put the issue to their respective peoples in a Referendum, France and the Netherlands (aka Holland).
The people gave a resounding “no”.
Since then, the likes of Blair and other like-minded folk on the Continent have been devising ways of getting the Constitution through the back door over the wishes of the majorities of the peoples of their respective nations.
My question is: Why bother holding a referendum in the first place of you are not going to respect the views of the people expressed in that referendum.
If the people say “no”, that means “no”.
