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Labour and Lib Dems thwart Conservatives' attempt to introduce "referendum lock" on future treaties extending EU's powers

PA reports that the Conservatives last night unsuccessfully tried to make an amendment to the Government's Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill to ensure that any future treaty transferring power to the EU be subject to a referendum. Mark Francois, the Shadow Europe Minister moved the amendment which the Conservatives have described as a "referendum lock" on transferring sovereignty to the EU.

 

Mr Francois said, "These amendments and new clause 68 would ensure that any future treaty that transferred areas of power or competences from the United Kingdom Parliament to the European Union would require the consent of the British people in a referendum as a condition of its ratification."

 

He added, "If we were not to succeed tonight and if we were victorious at the general election, we would amend the legislation as an incoming Conservative Government in order to achieve a referendum lock... My party believes that the British people should be given the last word on any future transfers of power from the UK to the EU."

 

Europe Minister Chris Bryant dismissed the amendments as "impracticable, wrong and unnecessary", while Labour's former Europe Minister Keith Vaz also dismissed them but added he would support a one-off referendum on whether Britain should be a member of the EU - a policy supported by Lib Dem Europe spokesman Ed Davey. However, in December 2009 former Lib Dem leader Menzies Campbell said that there was "no public appetite" for a vote on the UK's EU membership, seemingly abandoning his party's support for an 'in or out' referendum.

 

The amendment was defeated by 303 votes to 183.

 

On Conservative Home Jonathan Isaby notes "The Lib Dem opposition to the amendment marks another high point in hypocrisy for them and, in particular, their leader. At the Liberal Democrat Conference in 2005, one Nick Clegg proposed a motion stating that 'Any proposals which involve significant change in the relationship between the Union, the member states and its citizens should be approved in Britain through a referendum'".

 

Meanwhile, on his Telegraph blog, Lord Tebbit asks "what relationship we in the UK should have with the other states of Europe, or the EU. Perhaps that is a question we should be asking of our party leaders. Until we get it right, a lot of what goes on in the House of Commons (and indeed the Lords) will be no more than what the psychologists call a displacement activity."

Telegraph: Tebbit blog Conservative Home OE blog Hansard OE blog 2