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Ken Clarke blows lid on Tory plans to ditch constitution referendum if Irish vote yes to Treaty

By JAMES CHAPMAN
Last updated at 5:29 PM on 14th June 2009

Pro-EU: Kenneth Clarke said that the Lisbon Treaty will not be torn up if it is implemented before the next election

The revised EU constitution will not be torn up if it has been implemented by the time the Tories win power, Kenneth Clarke declared today.

The shadow business secretary prompted fury among Euro-sceptic colleagues by insisting the controversial Lisbon Treaty would not be unpicked if all 27 member states succeed in forcing it into law before the next election.

Instead, the pro-EU Mr Clarke said he envisaged only 'sensible discussions... in limited areas' about the balance of power between Westminster and Brussels.

The shadow business secretary's remarks caused consternation in Tory high command.

The promise of a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty was central to the party's campaign for EU Parliament elections earlier this month.

Gordon Brown has ditched Labour's manifesto promise at the last election to ask for voters' approval in a referendum.

The Prime Minister insists that the constitutional element of the treaty has been abandoned, making a vote unnecessary.

But most other EU leaders admit that it is virtually the same as the original version, which was rejected by voters in France and the Netherlands in 2005. 

Ireland voted against the latest version last year. The blueprint will still create the first full-time EU president and foreign affairs chief, give the EU its own legal personality like a nation state, and do away with Britain's right to reject EU proposals in more than 40 policy areas.

Tory leader David Cameron has resisted giving any firm pledge on what he would do if the treaty has already been forced into law by the time they take office.

Euro-sceptic Tory MPs have insisted there should be a referendum even if the treaty is already in place.

But critics have long said attempting to tear up a treaty after it has been agreed and made law across Europe would be fraught with difficulty.

It appears increasingly likely that the Lisbon Treaty will have been implemented before the next election, with the Irish expected to vote 'yes' in a re-run referendum this autumn.

Yesterday Mr Clarke told BBC1's The Politics Show: 'If the Irish referendum endorses the treaty and ratification comes into effect, then our settled policy is quite clear that the treaty will not be reopened.

'But it has also been said by David Cameron - and he means it - that it will not rest there, and he will want to start discussions on divisions of competence between national states and the centre of the EU.

'I think we will want to open negotiations with the EU about a return of some responsibilities, particularly in employment law, to individual nation states.

'These will be sensible negotiations, and I actually don't think that the British will be alone.'

Mr Clarke added: 'I don't think anybody in Europe, including me, is in the mood for any more tedious debates about treaties, which have gone on for far too long, which is why this needs to be resolved.

'We are talking about sensible discussions about the proper division of responsibilities between nations and the EU in limited areas.'

Hardline Eurosceptic Tory MP Bill Cash said: 'I condemn Kenneth Clarke's statement regarding the Lisbon Treaty if the Irish vote "yes". 

'Upon what authority has Mr Clarke made it? It is essential that we have a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty irrespective of the Irish vote, and this is supported by a very substantial number of Conservative MPs. 

'It appears that Kenneth Clarke has reinvented unilaterally Conservative Party policy on the whole of the Lisbon Treaty and European policy. This is quite extraordinary.'

Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party, said: 'Ken Clarke has let the cat out of the bag. 

'The Conservatives have no intention of holding a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty and all their promises during the European election campaign about holding one can now be seen to be sheer, brass-necked dishonesty.'

Labour's Foreign Secretary David Miliband said: 'Conservative policy on Europe is now in disarray. 

'Kenneth Clarke knows that Tory policy "not to let matters rest" on the Lisbon treaty is hare-brained and dangerous for British business, but his leader and shadow foreign secretary are committed to it. 

'The country deserves a clear answer: has Conservative policy flip-flopped, or are the Conservatives just divided and incredible in their foreign policy?'

A Conservative spokesman insisted: 'There is no change to Conservative policy. As Ken Clarke explained, if the Lisbon Treaty is ratified and in force across the EU by the time of the election of a Conservative Government, we have always made clear that we would not let matters rest there.

'In other words, we would not regard these matters as closed. We would regard political integration as having gone too far. 

'If that situation arises, we will set out how we would respond. We have consistently made clear, for example, that the return of social and employment legislation to UK control would be a major goal for a Conservative Government. 

'But today the Treaty is not in force and not ratified in all member states. That is why Gordon Brown should give the British people a referendum on it right now.'