Still a chance for a referendum on EU Treaty?

There is still a chance we can get a referendum on the EU Treaty - slim but a chance - it only takes 30 seconds to try and stop a Lib Dem U-turn...and below why Greens are for a referendum...

Following the debate in the House of Commons, in which most MPs voted against a referendum on the EU Lisbon Treaty, the I Want a Referendum campaign has turned its attention to the House of Lords, where the parliamentary arithmetic is more favourable to a referendum. The Lords are expected to vote on whether or not there should be a referendum in early June, and will discuss the issue for the first time on Tuesday 1 April.

In the House of Lords, the key to winning the referendum vote lies with the Liberal Democrats. If they stick to the line they took in the Commons and abstain from the vote in the Lords, then the referendum vote could well be won. There are 216 Labour peers, most of whom are likely to vote against a referendum, 202 Conservative peers, many of whom will vote for a referendum, and 196 crossbenchers, around half of whom may vote for a referendum. So that means that if the 78 Lib Dem peers abstain, there could well be a majority to trigger a referendum. It could be that the one Green peer, Lord Beaumont, will play a central role in this as the voting margins will be tight.

Lib Dem U-turn threatened

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg is coming under pressure from anti-referendum peers like Shirley Williams to allow them to vote against a referendum, rather than abstain. And there are rumours that Nick Clegg will cave in to this pressure, which would torpedo the prospects of a referendum. Please email Nick Clegg to urge him to stick to the line he took during the vote in the House of Commons - it took me less than a minute. Tell him that:

1) The Liberal Democrats should really be voting for the referendum which they promised at the last election.
2) At the very least Nick Clegg must not allow his peers to vote against the referendum, which nine out of ten people in Britain want.
3) It would be hypocritical to do one thing in the Commons,and then do something completely different in the Lords.

You can contact Nick Clegg by email: cleggn@parliament.uk. If you can, please copy in susannah@iwantareferendum.com Read more at: www.iwantareferendum.com

Green view (adapted from Caroline Lucas)

It is ‘perfectly possible’ to take a progressive pro-European stance in the debate over the Treaty of Lisbon while at the same time opposing the Treaty itself. Political leaders throughout the EU have shown extraordinary arrogance and disregard towards their citizens in refusing to hold referenda on the Treaty, as well as in trying to pass off what is essentially a repackaged Constitution as a new ‘Lisbon Treaty’.

Even one of the key architects of the original text, Valery Giscard D'Estaing, has admitted that the proposals in the original constitutional treaty are practically unchanged. As he says, “they have simply been dispersed through the old treaties in the form of amendments.

I don't oppose the principle of a constitution. But I oppose this particular one – and the Treaty which reproduces it. While the Treaty of Lisbon includes some positive measures these are outweighed by negative ones - the further militarisation of the EU, for example, as well as measures to promote increased free trade and economic liberalisation. Worse still, it squanders a unique opportunity to put sustainability and climate security genuinely at the heart of the Union, and fails to bring the EU institutions closer to European citizens.

The Green Party's vision of the European Union is one based on peace, democracy, and social justice. We have a vision of a Green Europe, which enforces ambitious policies for a more sustainable future, and which allows for rich cultural and social exchange between nations and regions.