Within the constituency of Harlow it seems David Cameron has jumped off the fence on the Lisbon treaty/constitution and has said, directly to a question, that the conservatives would give the country what it wants in the form of a referendum.
Nice one!
I hope it is true.
Watch the vid, its actually quite good.
2 comments:
There is a logical problem with the UK or any other member state having a referendum on pan european legislation. If we say no then it is either in effective or acts as a veto. Both of these outcome are anti democratic within the european context. If the issue is pan european we should have a refferendum accross the whole of europe. If individual member states do not like pan europen legislation and can not negotiate a opt out then the only national referendum required is to stay in or leave.
I know what you are saying, and on one level that is true. But 1) it should not be the case, and 2) It probably would not work out like you described if a 'No' vote was cast (such as that which seems to be happening now within Ireland.
1) It is undemocratic to leave the people of any member state in a position of either ineffectual demonstration or 100% rejection or any major change to the make up of Europe - as is the case with the constitution/treaty. Thus there should be some other mechanism in place that is clear and transparent to resolve and compromise on disputes like this.
2) That mechanism is likely to be created if the Irish vote no, or some similar comparative event happens in another member state. I don't think that anyone really believes that with a 'no' vote it would mean the end of the Irish involvement within Europe even though that is seemingly the only established possibility which can be seen.
What is likely to happen is this. Some hard diplomacy, followed by a plea to the Irish populace coupled with a compromise that does not accept the 'no' but is caused by it and allowed for their continued involvement within the European Project.
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