Ministers pledge to fight growing calls for EU treaty referendum

By Marie Woolf

Ministers, including David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, are set to come out fighting this week against growing demands for a EU treaty referendum.

Government sources say that a string of ministers will “make it clear” that the Government has a mandate for the new reform treaty, given at the European Council in June. The Government came under growing pressure last week to refuse to rule out a referendum. But the Prime Minister is expected to firmly rule out a referendum later this week.

The move follows intense pressure on Gordon Brown from members of his own party. A campaign led by the Labour MP Ian Davidson, who said that up to a third of Labour MPs could back calls for an EU treaty, was joined by the former Europe minister, Keith Vaz, on Friday. He said: “We should not be afraid of actually putting this argument before the British people. We don’t need a referendum on the reformed treaty because we didn’t have one on the Nice Treaty or on Maastricht. But I think there’s a difference between need and desirability.

“I think once and for all we need to put this behind us by putting it to the British people. I am absolutely convinced that we will win any test of public opinion as to whether or not the British people want us in Europe.”

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