Public may not get a vote on EU Constitution, says No 10

JANE MERRICK
UK Daily Mail
Friday, January 19, 2007

The British public could be denied a say over the European Constitution, Downing Street has suggested.

Officials said it was not necessary to hold a referendum over the issue.

No 10's apparent surrender could mean Britain giving up voting powers and the right to veto crucial areas of EU policy.

The plans for a European super-state were put centre stage by Germany's Angela Merkel on Wednesday.

The German Chancellor said her country wanted to use its presidency of the EU over the next six months to resurrect the controversial blueprint after it was rejected 18 months ago.

Downing Street officials last night insisted any fundamental transfer of powers to Brussels would still trigger a referendum.

But a spokesman admitted that a pared-down document could be nodded through by MPs to make an enlarged EU work more effectively. He added: "We think the best European Constitution is a simple constitution.

"The result of a simple constitution would be that we would not have to hold a referendum."

Europe Minister Geoff Hoon is known to be sympathetic to French presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy's plan for a "mini constitution" that would still contain many of the elements rejected by Dutch and French voters in 2005.

This would include a permanent EU president, permanent foreign minister and a massive extension of majority voting in areas such as justice and home affairs and give the EU the right to sign treaties for the first time in history.

Four years ago in a ballot organised by the Daily Mail nine out of ten Britons demanded a say on the issue.

Tory MP Mike Penning last night condemned the Downing Street statement.

He said: "They are trying to bypass the British public and ram this constitution through without anyone noticing.

"The constitution was roundly rejected by two European nations but some people have clearly not given up.

"Even Labour were forced to concede that British voters should have a say over the constitution.

"It is completely unacceptable for there to be any further centralisation in Brussels via the back door."

Labour might have lost the last election if it had not decided to get tough with asylum seekers, Tony Blair said yesterday.

He added that the party would lose the next election unless the Government gets to grips with rampant immigration.

Mr Blair told the Policy Network thinktank annual conference that Labour must be prepared "to introduce tough measures on illegal migration, cut numbers of unfounded asylum claims and seek to deport those who threatened us."

But Tory MPs accused him of hypocrisy, saying 600,000 Eastern Europeans have flocked here over the last two years.

David Davies, MP for Monmouth, said: "It's preposterous for him to claim that he is being tough when all he does is make the occasional speech."

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