LorraineMullally

Brownie No.2 – The Lisbon Treaty

In its attempts to wriggle out of its manifesto promise to hold a referendum on the EU Constitution, the Government has argued that the Lisbon Treaty is a completely different beast to the document rejected by the French and Dutch in 2005. 

Gordon Brown and David Miliband repeatedly insisted that the EU Constitution “has been abandoned.” Brown even brazenly claimed that if it “were the old constitutional treaty, we would be having a referendum”. 

This has been one of the most widely disbelieved, but oft-repeated claims in recent British political history.

A YouGov poll for the Telegraph in October 2007 showed that 94% of people don’t believe the Government’s argument that the Treaty is different to the original EU Constitution.

Even Ken Clarke, (no raging eurosceptic) seems infuriated by this Brownie.  In a moment of exasperation when the Commons debated the referendum he asked the Foreign Secretary:

“Will you stop all this nonsense about it being different from the constitution, because it is plainly the same in substance, and explain why it is better not to have a referendum but have it decided in parliament. You are getting into trouble because of the deviousness and, at times, ridiculousness, of the arguments you are using.”

So who do the Government think they are kidding?  In fact, what are they even trying to claim?

The “Constitutional Concept”

The Government has never offered a list of changes of substance.  Instead Gordon Brown hides behind a statement which the UK got other EU leaders to agree with, which states that the “constitutional concept” has been abandoned.  Brown initially hoped to blur this a little and make it appear that other leaders had agreed that the Constitution had been dumped.

This cunning plan hit an immediate snag.  Despite playing nice at the Summit, once they got home other EU leaders started to blab that the shiny new “Lisbon Treaty” is just the same as the Constitution, with a new cover. 

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