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| Britain | |
| Blair prepares EU referendum U-turn | |
| 2004-04-19 | |
| LONDON (Reuters) - The government is poised to announce plans for a referendum on a European Union constitution -- a major change of heart for Prime Minister Tony Blair. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw will make a statement to parliament on Tuesday, Blair's official spokesman told reporters on Monday. He would not explicitly confirm plans to offer the public a vote on the charter, if agreed by EU leaders. But he repeatedly declined to deny plans for a referendum, merely saying he would not pre-empt Straw's announcement. "The foreign secretary will provide an update on the EU constitution," he said. Blair will take questions in parliament on Wednesday and hold a news conference on Thursday. A number of EU member states plan to hold public votes if an EU constitution is signed and sealed at a heads of government summit in June, as seems increasingly likely. A "No" vote in any one of them would hold up, or possibly even scupper the charter. President Jacques Chirac has been pressured to hold a vote in France. If Britain, one of the other big EU powers, leads the way, that pressure will increase, diplomats say.
Blair's spokesman denied his apparent change of heart meant the prime minister now feared the constitution would challenge British sovereignty. "Any constitution that we agree with will not cross our red lines," he said. Blair has pledged to keep unilateral British control of areas like taxation, defence and foreign policy. A British referendum could yet prove redundant if talks between EU leaders founder again. It is also highly unlikely that Blair will call a vote before a general election expected in May 2005. Polls show Britons could well vote against a constitution -- far less damaging for Blair after he is returned to power than beforehand -- although defeat at any point for the pro-European prime minister could cause him to consider his position. A YouGov poll in the Sun newspaper on Monday showed only 16 percent of Britons would vote 'yes' to a constitution, and 53 percent would vote 'no'. Another 28 percent were undecided. Blair's spokesman suggested there would be no referendum soon. He said parliament would have to consider the constitution first, a process that would not start until late this year. "The parliamentary process is the right place to go," he said. "By the time it is translated and turned into legalise the constitution would not emerge from Brussels until October, November." | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 "...to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,..." |
| Posted by: mojo 2004-04-19 1:13:29 PM |