Blair confirms referendum on EU Constitution

Prime Minister Tony Blair has confirmed today that there will be a referendum on the new European Treaty, but the timing for the poll remains uncertain.

Mr Blair told Parliament today that it was time, once and for all, for Britain to decide it wants to be a leading partner and ally of Europe, or on its margins.

Mr Blair said that the government will agree to the Treaty provided it incorporates the essential British positions.

"The electorate should be asked for their opinion when all our questions have been answered, when all the details are known, when the legislation has been finally tempered and scrutinised in the House, and when Parliament has debated and decided," he said.

The new Constitutional Treaty aims to change the way Europe works following enlargement on May 1 and to pull other existing treaties together. Mr Blair said the government would insist on amendments to the present draft Treaty to ensure that certain policy areas - like taxation, foreign policy, defence and social security - remain under national control.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesperson said that the Constitution could be agreed by June and a Bill introducing the treaty would probably be presented before Parliament in the autumn.

Parliament would then debate the issue, before the matter could be laid before the people. The Prime Minister's Official Spokesperson said that Parliamentary scrutiny of the detail was important; rather than the debate being led by misleading headlines, soundbites, perceptions and myths.

Political rivals have described the decision to hold a vote as a major U-turn by the government. And the speed of the decision took many, including cabinet ministers, by surprise.

At the end of the Brussels Summit in March, the Prime Minister told reporters that there would not be a referendum. Ministers had maintained the mantra that the treaty was merely a "tidying up exercise".

Despite being a committed Europhile, Mr Blair has been wary of pushing Europe to the top of the political agenda at home.

He had rejected the need for a vote in the past, but with the Tories, Lib Dems and a sizeable portion of his backbenchers agitating for a vote, the weight of opinion has proved irresistible for Downing Street.

Had the referendum issue been allowed persist, Labour's credentials as a truly democratic and open 'people's party' could have been irrevocably tarnished heading into the general election campaign.

(gmcg)