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Another nail in the coffin
I MAKE no apologies for returning to the thorny question of the Lisbon Treaty.
On Wednesday last week I witnessed another nail in the coffin of democracy in our country. Unless the Lords reverse the decision of the Commons then you will not have a vote, via a referendum, on the Lisbon Treaty.
There are several shocking things about this. First, you were promised one in the 2005 General Election. Second, the French and Dutch had a vote on its predecessor, the Constitution, and voted no. We were told that due to the negative votes it was dead.
Not the half of it. Its resurrection was of Biblical proportions. It took up off its death bed and walked! It was renamed and had a slight makeover, but 96% of the original constitution was made flesh in the Lisbon Treaty.
The Foreign Secretary clearly does not like referendums. I asked him in the debate, whether during the 2005 General Election – on which his manifesto contained the original referendum promise – he put out a personal manifesto message which stated that he would not support the referendum. He had not!
The day before the debate, the Liberal Democrats tried to muddy the waters with a referendum on whether the UK should be in or out of the EU. Personally I would have this question on the ballot paper, but in addition to the promised question on the Lisbon Treaty.
They wanted to have a referendum on a question which they believed they could win – in or out of Europe – but not on the question that they, too, promised in their 2005 manifesto which was Lisbon Treaty, yes or no, which they believed they would lose.
Sadly, the vast majority of the Lib Dems abstained on the Lisbon referendum question.
Had they all voted for the treaty referendum then I believe we could have won the vote as more Labour rebels would have come out of the woodwork.
As one Labour MP said to me privately: "Why should I vote for something and ruin my standing in the Party, when it is not going to win because the Lib Dems are abstaining?"
So, at a time when every poll in the nation states that 80% or more of those asked would like a referendum; when a mini referendum ballot held by an independent electoral organisation shows overwhelming support for a referendum; and at a time when mistrust of politicians has never been greater, the Government has acted to further diminish our reputation.
My commitment remains clear. I promised the voters of the Ribble Valley that I would support a public vote on the Constitutional Treaty. That is what I did. What an irony it would be if the unelected House of Lords overturns the vote and keeps the promise that the elected chamber denied.
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Weather for Clitheroe
Sunday 05 February 2012
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Cloudy
Temperature: 2 C to 5 C
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