MEDIA RELEASE
21 June 2007

Embargo: none


BROWN FACES PROSPECT OF COMMONS DEFEAT OVER CONSTITUTION TREATY WITHOUT PLEDGE OF REFERENDUM

NEW CAMPAIGN TO NAME AND SHAME MPs AS ‘REFERENDUM CHEATS’

A survey of MPs revealed today has shown that more than 40 Labour MPs had already pledged their support for a referendum on the EU Constitution before Tony Blair U-turned to promise one.

The research - conducted through a letter-writing campaign by supporters of the eurosceptic Democracy Movement - revealed that 42 Labour MPs were prepared to rebel against the government and support a public vote.

The figures show the level of support for an EU referendum on Labour backbenches and clearly illustrates the struggle Gordon Brown will face should he try to railroad the new EU Constitution treaty through Parliament without giving people a say.

Today, the government only has a working majority of 67. Were just 34 of the original 42 pro-referendum Labour MPs to stick to their view - and opposition parties also continue to support a referendum - Gordon Brown would not have the majority necessary to ratify the revived EU Constitution treaty without first reviving his original promise of a public vote.

Marc Glendening, campaign director of the Democracy Movement, said:

"The risk of an embarrassing Commons defeat is a real one for Gordon Brown, if he sets himself against so many of his backbench MPs – even some pro-EU - who clearly feel that still more powers cannot be transferred to Brussels without first giving people a say."

The Democracy Movement - the grass-roots pressure group that came out of the eurosceptic Referendum Party - is set to launch a major new publicity campaign in the marginal seats of MPs who plan to go back on their manifesto promise of a referendum.

The first phase, set to start next month, will involve the distribution of two million leaflets and cards that can be posted to 10 Downing Street. The cards will be headlined ‘Gordon, Don’t be an EU Cheat’ and call on Brown to ‘Give us the Constitution Referendum you promised’.

They will carry a photograph of the next PM with a speech bubble containing the words of Labour’s last manifesto: ‘We will put the Constitutional Treaty to the British people in a referendum…’

The next constituency-based phase of the campaign will result in the ‘outing’ as ‘referendum cheats’ those MPs intending to go back on their manifesto promise. Personalised leaflets and posters will be distributed in marginal constituencies explaining how the MPs targeted are planning to cheat their constituents out of the referendum they have committed to supporting.

Local voters will be able to independently and directly download the campaign materials from the DM website. Anti-referendum MPs will be challenged to come to public meetings and justify their position. Rival election candidates from other parties will also be invited to tell voters where they stand, and so gain a possible electoral advantage at a time likely to be less than 18 months before a general election.

Marc Glendening said:

"At the local level, MPs will find it particularly hard to explain to constituents - in the run up to a like May 2009 general election - why they're not honouring a clear promise made at the previous election.

"Voters were given a categorical guarantee by all the major parties at the last election that there would be no hand-over of new powers to Brussels without the issue first being put directly to the British people.

"MPs who vote for the next EU treaty will be transferring important new law-making powers that rightfully belong to their constituents.

"We will target anti-referendum politicians of all parties with the intention of making them pay a heavy price for their betrayal of democracy.

"With only a 2% swing needed to remove Gordon Brown’s parliamentary majority, many government MPs in marginal seats will be extremely nervous about being targeted in this way.

"Our ‘Don’t be an EU Cheat’ campaign will help concentrate minds in the long run-up to the next general election".

[Ends]

CONTACTS:

Stuart Coster, DM Head Office - 0208 570 5681
Marc Glendening - 020 7483 3421

NOTES:

The Democracy Movement is the eurosceptic pressure group that formed out of the Referendum Party - since conducting major grass-roots campaigns and distributing millions of pieces of literature on keeping the pound and against the EU Constitution.

Today the movement is Britain's largest eurosceptic pressure group by a considerable margin, with more than 300,000 registered supporters and over 100 local branches nation-wide.

The DM’s ‘Keep the Power’ information campaign conducted during the 2001 general election – publicising to local voters the pro-euro views of an all-party selection of MPs and candidates in marginal seats – was judged to have cost six pro-euro MPs their seats and having been influential in stronger than average swings against two dozen more.

 
 
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