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A united call for a referendum on the EU Lisbon Treaty was launched at a public meeting organised by SCAEF in Glasgow in October 2007. Ian Davidson MP from the LabFOR campaign, Duncan Ross, national secretary of the SNP and Jackson Cullinane speaking on behalf of the Scottish Trades Union Congress were united on the need for referendum. Jackson Cullinane, Deputy Scottish Secretary of the TGWU section of UNITE, noted that both the Scottish Trades Union Congress and the British TUC now had policy in support of a referendum. “The EU Reform Treaty is virtually identical to the EU Constitution rejected in 2005 by the French and the Dutch. The British government was pledged to a referendum then and it should be committed to one now. Issues of particular concern to trade union members were the Treaty’s endorsement of the free market principle and its requirement for the liberalisation of public services. These issues will only be properly debated if there is a referendum.’ Duncan Ross stressed that the SNP wanted a future in which Scotland could play an independent role within the European Union and its government was free to speak directly for the needs of its people. At the same it was also important to defend the right of people to take a direct decision on the Treaty. There might also be concerns for the SNP about the Treaty itself. ‘If control over fishing and fishing quotas has the same status as in the 2004 document, the SNP will need to consider its position very carefully’. Ian Davidson MP said he was convinced that, as in 2004, the pressure of opinion would eventually bring the government to accept the need for a referendum. ‘There are more than 100 Labour MPs who have now expressed their wish for a referendum. A key turning point has been the report of the EU Scrutiny Committee. This has challenged the government’s claim that the Treaty was significantly different from the 2004 Constitution. More important still, parliament’s legal advisers have also queried the long-term validity of the government’s ‘red line’ opt-outs in face of legal challenge by the European Court of Justice.’ For the Scottish Labour Campaign for Socialism Vince Mills argued that Gordon Brown’s support for the Reform Treaty represented a key facet of New Labour’s big business alignment. “We need to expose the Treaty for what it is. It both opens up far more of the public sector to private capital and creates the basis for what New Labour describes as modernising the labour market – that is, the intensified exploitation of the workforce.” From Ireland Tony Coughlan of the Irish National Platform said that the Treaty raised fundamental democratic issues for all countries in the EU. “The Treaty takes democracy from national parliaments. It thereby strengthens the executive against the legislature and intensifies the trend towards authoritarian government.” Dr Coughlan noted that in Northern Ireland both the leading parties in government, Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionist Party, were united in advocating the need for a referendum and their opposition to the Reform Treaty. |
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On 19 December 2007 the Scottish parliament voted overwhelmingly to call for a referendum on the EU Reform Treaty. The SNP, Green and Conservatives voted for. Labour abstained—a warning to the Prime Minister on the strength of feeling in his own party. |
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The Scottish Parliament and the Lisbon Treaty |
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Cross-Party Meeting |
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Scottish Parliament December 2007 vote |
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On 5 March 2008 an amendment was put to the EU (Amendment) Bill requiring that a referendum be held. The amendment was defeated 311 votes to 248. 28 Labour MPs voted for a referendum—as did 13 Liberal Democrats, 6 SNP, 3 Plaid, 6DUP, 1 UUP. Scottish Labour MPs voting for a referendum included Ian Davidson and Anne Moffat |