Tories back out of EU referendum as Lisbon Treaty is ratified

THE Tory leadership tonight conceded defeat over their plans to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.

William Hague tonight ruled out a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty under a Tory government William Hague tonight ruled out a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty under a Tory government

Shadow foreign secretary William Hague - who can be seen in the video above passionately attacking the treaty as 'totally undemocratic' - said it was no longer possible to put the treaty to a popular vote.

His announcement came after Czech President Vaclav Klaus removed the last obstacle to full ratification.

“Now that the treaty is going to become European law and is going to enter into force, that means a referendum can no longer prevent the creation of the president of the European Council, the loss of British national vetoes,” he said.

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“These things will already have happened and a referendum cannot unwind them or prevent them.”

David Cameron will set out his party s vision for Europe tomorrow David Cameron will set out his party's vision for Europe tomorrow

Mr Hague said party leader David Cameron - in a speech to be delivered at 4pm tomorrow - would set out “in detail how we will now go forward in European matters”.

He denied that the party had broken any promises by dropping the referendum pledge.

“A British referendum until this very day would have meant that the Lisbon Treaty wouldn’t enter into force if people voted no. The position of president of the European Council, the foreign minister of Europe, would never have been implemented,” he said.

“We were very clear that our promise applied to those circumstances. After today, those things will come into force and a referendum can’t change them, it can’t unwind them, it can’t prevent those things being created.

“That is why we are now in new circumstances and David Cameron will set out very clearly tomorrow how we now intend to proceed.”

Foreign Secretary David Miliband denounced Mr Cameron’s position as “false and dangerous” as he would not be able to deliver his promised concessions from Brussels.

“So much for David Cameron’s cast iron guarantee to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty,” he said.

“But he is still not being honest with people. The fact is you can’t simply opt out of treaty obligations because to do so you need the agreement of the 26 other member states.

“David Cameron’s position on Europe is false and dangerous. He is willing to risk Britain’s standing and the rights of British people because he is still not prepared to stand up to the right of his own party.”

Earlier, the deeply Eurosceptic Mr Klaus announced he had signed the treaty after the Czech Constitutional Court finally rejected an attempt to block its implementation.

The move threatens to throw the Tories into a renewed round of turmoil over Europe after years of relative peace.

The Conservative leadership has been signalling for some weeks that it would not be able to go ahead with a referendum if the treaty was ratified by the time a Tory government came to power.

However for Tory Eurosceptics it has become an article of faith after Mr Cameron gave a “cast iron guarantee” two years ago that he would give the British people a chance to vote on the treaty.

He is now expected to announce a general election manifesto commitment to “repatriate” powers from Brussels, including control of social and employment policies - a long-standing Tory aim.

UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage said: “Mr Hague says it is ’no longer possible’ to have a referendum.

“Well, to me and millions of others it is apparent that it is no longer possible to trust the Tory party or David Cameron when they make promises about Europe.”

Eurosceptic Conservative MP Bill Cash said he had written to Mr Cameron urging him to “reconsider” his decision not to hold a referendum, saying the Tory leader had been “badly advised”.

Mr Cash said Mr Hague’s argument that a referendum could not be held because the Treaty was now law “doesn’t stack up”, and insisted the issue can still be put to a vote.

“I think a referendum at least gives people a chance to exercise their democratic choice to decide which way they want to go on this matter and I think that is the fundamental question,” the MP for Stone told Sky News.

Writing on his internet blog before Mr Hague’s announcement, Tory MEP Daniel Hannan said: “Alright, a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty might no longer be the most logical option: it’s hardly for us to tell the Belgians or the Slovenes what institutions they should work under.

“But a referendum on European integration - ideally on the broad repatriation of powers - is essential.”

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