19/06/08 - Gordon Brown Railroads Through Lisbon Treaty

Thousands of Swindon residents supported our campaign to demand a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty

UK ratifies Lisbon Treaty
Gordon Brown railroads through Lisbon Treaty despite widespread opposition

Local South-West, Conservative MEP Neil Parish is dismayed at the UK ratification of the Lisbon Treaty just days after the Irish rejection. The government insisted that the House of Lord's voted to ratify the Treaty yesterday despite attempts by Tory peers to delay it four four months in the aftermath of the Irish "No".

The Treaty must be ratified by all 27 member states before it comes into force but in the wake of the Irish rejection, this is unlikely to happen. As a result, there was no need for a hasty ratification by the UK and the Conservative bid to delay the House of Lords vote by four months would have given Gordon Brown a chance to gauge the strength of public support against the Treaty. In Brussels, the European Commission is hastily coming up with plans to ignore the Irish result and press ahead with the Treaty anyway as European heads of state meet for their twice yearly summit.

Mr Parish Said :-"This is an utter disgrace. The Irish people voted democratically against further integration and unelected European elites are dismissing their views as just an Irish problem. A referendum in the UK would have shown it is far more than just an Irish problem, the problem is the undemocratic and integrationist policies that the EU is embarking on. Ignoring referendum results that go the wrong way is part of the problem.

"If the French football team were to take the attitude of the European Commission and Gordon Brown, they would ignore the result of their game with Italy and turn up for the Quarter Final anyway. They would naturally be laughed out of town, but the European elites are doing exactly the same thing.

"Gordon Brown was so ashamed of this Treaty that he had to sign it in a room on his own. For once, he could have shown some courage and stood up to Brussels, yet instead he has signed Britain up to an unnecessary and unwanted treaty that will cost us dear in the long run."

Cllr Justin Tomlinson, Swindon North Prospective MP, "As ever our two Swindon Labour MPs refuse to stand up for the wishes of the public, arrogantly ignoring the opposition to the Lisbon Treaty for their own political agenda - the General Election can not come soon enough for them both to be booted out of office."