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Don't Be Vague, Hague
A welcome statement from Conservative Shadow Foreign Secretary, William Hague. In his speech to party conference yesterday, Hague promised to change the law so any new EU treaty would need to be put to a referendum of the British people.
He targeted the 1972 European Communities Act for change: "the next Conservative Government will amend the 1972 European Communities Act, so that if any future government agrees any treaty that transfers further competences from Britain to the EU a national referendum before it could be ratified would be required by law." Hague added that under the Conservatives, judges would be charged with deciding whether or not new treaties would require a referendum. Currently, this job is jealously guarded by ministers.
Hague attacked PM Gordon Brown's line that the new EU treaty differs significantly from the constitution rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005. 240 of the 250 provisions are identical, he argued: "The attempt to portray this treaty as fundamentally different from the EU constitution... is one of the most bare-faced and deliberate misrepresentations in the modern annals of political deceit."
Well, at least Hague is doing something. Or is he? The England Expects blog is sceptical. Note our italics on Hague's mention of "any treaty" above. Hague doesn't explicitly say "any revision of the treaty" - it appears he is referring to any new treaty which could emerge from Brussels in the years of Conservative rule.
Here's England Expects:
"Let it be said once and for all, there will be no need of a new EU Treaty after this one. There is the procedure in place to ensure that they will never have to put everything on the line again. In the future it will be piecemeal, and this promise to amend the European Communities Act, though good in its own way does not do what he suggests. Further amendments, which the government of the day support - with or without the support of the British people - will still go through Parliament under the current Westminster procedure and this safeguard is as much use as a phoning the local police in the event of a burglary."
Over to you, Mr Hague: More clarity, please.
Hague also called on the EU to turn the screws on Zimbawe's Robert Mugabe, demanding that his regime should face sanctions. He added that the Conservatives would withdraw the knighthood Mugabe was awarded in 1994.
