Lisbon Revisited

Exciting news from the Tax Payers Alliance yesterday that the EU is set to make all of its members vote once again on Lisbon. 

This would likely mean that in this Autumn the UK Parliament will need to re-ratify the document, which this time will allow for the additional 18 MEP's who are in attendance and on the pay roll to be able to actually vote in the EU's mock Parliament.

This of course opens a question today, in the last day of the campaign before an election of how each party if returned with a majority would react to what will be a very unpopular vote.

I think we could be certain that the Labour position would be to just ram it through Parliament; after all they did so the first time round despite their manifesto pledge.

The Liberal Democrats would certainly follow suit, and would argue it is a technicality and in keeping with the initial vote.  They would not give us a referendum on this or the wider EU vote they have talked of.

But what would David Cameron and the Conservatives do?  Would a second vote on Lisbon qualify in their "referendum lock" policy?  Would the supposedly more EU Sceptic swath of new Conservative MP's kick up a fuss and demand a that the referendum were were once denied now be granted.

I would genuinely like to know, and I hope if any of my readers are within shouting distance of any candidates today they try and get an answer - because a commitment on THIS SIDE of the election is what is needed.

My guess is that the Conservatives would not give the referendum vote and would push Lisbon through with the support of the Lib Dems and Labour.

I don't need to guess which MP's would work for a referendum on Lisbon, or in fact on a referendum on the wider issue of EU Membership because there are at the time of writing 99 candidates nationally who have taken the Albion Alliance pledge and declared:

I pledge to work tirelessly to give the voters of my constituency a democratic and direct voice in the United Kingdom’s continued relationship with the EU.

I pledge that I will sponsor a Private Members Bill, written in clear concise terms, calling for a referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union – and/or support any motion for such a referendum – and to vote positively for any Bill that may call for such a referendum, irrespective of Party Whip, with a view to the successful outcome of this pledge within 1 year of a new Parliament or sooner.

If the question of EU membership is your election hot spot and if you are one of the awakening masses that knows that our ailing country cannot be repaired whilst we are subject to EU diktat then we have one day to increase this 99 number and we have one day in which to prod and probe the three factions of the Westminster Cartel on what they are and are not prepared to do for us.  If the LIB/LAB/CON candidates want your vote, get them to pledge before the election to the Albion Alliance pledge so that you can be certain they will do what they say and so that others locally can be informed too.

I hope the 5th May is a busy day on the politics blogs, and I hope that people read and realise that getting out of the EU is the very best thing the UK could do.