Our friend Stuart Wheeler sends us the following message, which may be of interest to readers of this blog:
My Legal Case to Force a Referendum on the Lisbon Treaty
I believe that there is an overwhelming moral case for a referendum on whether the UK should ratify the Lisbon Treaty because:
- The Labour Party, as well as all major parties, promised a referendum and they should keep that promise.
- The contents of the Treaty change our constitution so fundamentally that, irrespective of whether one is for or against ratification, one should be allowed a vote.
Fortunately there is a legal, as well as a moral, basis for demanding a referendum and I have instituted proceedings against the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary, in which I seek a judicial review and a declaration that the refusal to hold a referendum is unlawful. The case goes to the High Court on 22 April for a crucial preliminary hearing in open court.
The Liberal Democrats, who were instructed by their leader to abstain in the House of Commons on the question of a referendum, are to be instructed in the House of Lords to vote with the Government against a referendum. This will make it very hard, though not impossible, for an amendment in favour of a referendum to be carried.
The only other chance of a referendum in the UK is in my case. It will not be easy to win it but, if I do, and if the referendum is then won by those who oppose ratification, we may well have saved for our country its right to govern itself. We shall also have changed the course of European history because the Treaty cannot come into force unless every one of the 27 members of the European Union ratifies it.
I have a website about the case - www.stuartwheeler.co.uk - and it will be updated as necessary.
