Two dramatic opinion polls today warned Gordon Brown he is taking a major gamble by agreeing the EU Treaty while refusing to call a referendum.
As the Prime Minister prepared to sign Britain up to the "son of constitution" blueprint over dinner in Lisbon tonight, the surveys showed he is opposed by seven in 10 Britons.
An FT/Harris poll shows 75 per cent want the right to vote on the treaty, with similar numbers clamouring for referenda in France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
A separate survey by YouGov in the Daily Telegraph found 69 per cent want the vote and only 14 per cent agreed with Mr Brown that there was no need.
As the Prime Minister prepared to sign Britain up to the "son of constitution" blueprint over dinner in Lisbon tonight, the surveys showed he is opposed by seven in 10 Britons.
An FT/Harris poll shows 75 per cent want the right to vote on the treaty, with similar numbers clamouring for referenda in France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
A separate survey by YouGov in the Daily Telegraph found 69 per cent want the vote and only 14 per cent agreed with Mr Brown that there was no need.
The Prime Minister is bracing himself for a torrent of fire from Conservatives, some Labour MPs and sections of the media for insisting it can become law with only a vote in Parliament.
Mr Brown is convinced he must ride out the storm to "park" Europe as an issue before the next election.
With other EU leaders, he is expected to approve a draft text of the "son of constitution", with a formal signing ceremony in December.
He was flying to Portugal this afternoon amid expectations that the UK will secure its "red lines", which ministers claim protect the UK national interest-Critics fear they could be overturned by the courts in years to come.
Embarrassingly for Mr Brown, leaders of other countries - including Germany, Ireland and Spain - have said the treaty is almost identical to the defunct European Constitution, for which Labour promised a referendum before it could become law. Critics say lengthy passages of the documents are identical.
Shadow foreign secretary William Hague said: "The British people are not fools. They know they were promised a referendum and they can spot a wriggling and devious Prime Minister when they see one."
The Conservative leader David Cameron highlighted remarks by former Labour minister Gisela Stuart, who helped draw up the original constitution.
She said this week that honouring the manifesto pledge was a matter of "trust and integrity" for the Prime Minister.
**Shame on this authoritarian one eye'd wankstain of an unelected PM. No vote on Europe and no vote on him taking over the UK.
Mr Brown is convinced he must ride out the storm to "park" Europe as an issue before the next election.
With other EU leaders, he is expected to approve a draft text of the "son of constitution", with a formal signing ceremony in December.He was flying to Portugal this afternoon amid expectations that the UK will secure its "red lines", which ministers claim protect the UK national interest-Critics fear they could be overturned by the courts in years to come.
Embarrassingly for Mr Brown, leaders of other countries - including Germany, Ireland and Spain - have said the treaty is almost identical to the defunct European Constitution, for which Labour promised a referendum before it could become law. Critics say lengthy passages of the documents are identical.
Shadow foreign secretary William Hague said: "The British people are not fools. They know they were promised a referendum and they can spot a wriggling and devious Prime Minister when they see one."
The Conservative leader David Cameron highlighted remarks by former Labour minister Gisela Stuart, who helped draw up the original constitution.
She said this week that honouring the manifesto pledge was a matter of "trust and integrity" for the Prime Minister.
**Shame on this authoritarian one eye'd wankstain of an unelected PM. No vote on Europe and no vote on him taking over the UK.
Tags: Cyclops, Gordon Brown, EU, EU constitution, New Labour
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2 people have spoken:
he say´s it´s ´´good for the people´´one word sums that swivel eyed jock up, and that is Traitor
Well said Paul, same name as myself.
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