It was a relief to see that Ireland voted yes by such a large margin.
I’d be the first to admit that the Lisbon Treaty isn’t perfect by any stretch of imagination, but it’s time to accept it and move on.
It doesn’t seem like the Tories have understood this, though.
The leadership are ducking the issue: ‘However, Mr Cameron declared in an email to Tory supporters last night on the eve of his party’s annual gathering, in Manchester: “I want to make one thing clear: there will be no change in our policy on Europe and no new announcements at the conference.”‘
And most of their members want a referendum no matter what: “The poll of 2,205 Tory members by the ConservativeHome.com website found that more than eight in 10 want him to call a referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon even if it has been approved by the next general election – a pledge he is refusing to make.”
Scarily, according to the latter link, “total withdrawal from the European Union is the most favoured option among party members when asked how a Tory government should handle the issue, putting them totally at odds with a Tory leadership committed to British membership. Some 82 per cent want to freeze Britain’s financial contributions to the EU.”
Much as Gordon Brown and New Labour are a disaster, it’s hard to believe that such a europhobic party can be an improvement for the country. 🙁