Most people seem to be missing the elephant in the room here.
It's the promise that the party will spell out in its manifesto what
action it would take to reverse European integration.
action it would take to reverse European integration.
This would be fine if we were all quite sure WHICH manifesto he was talking
about . We need to know the answer to that before voting in the euro-
elections in 36 days time. This promise looks purely designed to
boost Tory votes in the euro-elections with an unspecific promise.
As far as that goes where IS the manifesto for that election anyway?
Dealing with the Tory party on Europe is like walking through ankle-
high treacle. You have to drag every bit of information out of them
XXXXXXXX CS
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SPECTATOR COFFEE HOUSE Blog 29.4.09
The headline-grabber from William Hague's interview with the Times
seems to be his admission that "it is likely that [the Tories] are
going to be able to win the next election". But this section rather
caught my eye:
"And for the first time he hinted that a referendum could still be
promised in the Tory manifesto, even if the treaty had been ratified.
Previously the Tories have said that they would not let matters rest
in the event of the treaty being ratified but have declined to expand
on what they might do.
Mr Hague said that, if it were not ratified by the time of a Tory
victory, there would be a referendum 'in the opening months' and a
Bill preparing for the vote would be ready. If the treaty had been
ratified, the party would, nevertheless, spell out in its manifesto
what action it would take to reverse European integration. Pressed on
whether in those circumstances a referendum could still be promised
in a Tory manifesto, he said: 'We would not rule anything in or out.'"
Coupled with their latest poster campaign, the Tories are showing a
renewed determination to tackle the Lisbon Treaty. If they are
thinking about a post-ratification referendum, then I think the key
thing is that their manifesto makes it clear whether the result will
be binding on the government. Sure, it will be politically more
difficult to pull out of a ratified Lisbon Treaty than to pull out of
the ratification process itself. But the British public deserves to
know whether "No," really does mean "No".
about . We need to know the answer to that before voting in the euro-
elections in 36 days time. This promise looks purely designed to
boost Tory votes in the euro-elections with an unspecific promise.
As far as that goes where IS the manifesto for that election anyway?
Dealing with the Tory party on Europe is like walking through ankle-
high treacle. You have to drag every bit of information out of them
XXXXXXXX CS
==================================
SPECTATOR COFFEE HOUSE Blog 29.4.09
Hague talks referenda
PETER HOSKIN 9:08amThe headline-grabber from William Hague's interview with the Times
seems to be his admission that "it is likely that [the Tories] are
going to be able to win the next election". But this section rather
caught my eye:
"And for the first time he hinted that a referendum could still be
promised in the Tory manifesto, even if the treaty had been ratified.
Previously the Tories have said that they would not let matters rest
in the event of the treaty being ratified but have declined to expand
on what they might do.
Mr Hague said that, if it were not ratified by the time of a Tory
victory, there would be a referendum 'in the opening months' and a
Bill preparing for the vote would be ready. If the treaty had been
ratified, the party would, nevertheless, spell out in its manifesto
what action it would take to reverse European integration. Pressed on
whether in those circumstances a referendum could still be promised
in a Tory manifesto, he said: 'We would not rule anything in or out.'"
Coupled with their latest poster campaign, the Tories are showing a
renewed determination to tackle the Lisbon Treaty. If they are
thinking about a post-ratification referendum, then I think the key
thing is that their manifesto makes it clear whether the result will
be binding on the government. Sure, it will be politically more
difficult to pull out of a ratified Lisbon Treaty than to pull out of
the ratification process itself. But the British public deserves to
know whether "No," really does mean "No".
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