Tory heavyweight Ken Clarke has let the cat out of the bag &# the Conservatives have no intention of holding a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. He told the BBC's John Soppel today: "If the Irish referendum endorses the Treaty and ratification comes into effect then our settled policy is quite clear, that the Treaty will not be reopened." UKIP Leader Nigel Farage said: "This statement jus...

Asked if the Prime Minister would welcome a second referendum in Ireland and would it have any impact on a possible referendum in the UK, the PMS replied that as people knew, we had already ratified the Lisbon Treaty and had had an extensive parliamentary debate on the passage of the Lisbon Treaty Bill. Any decision that the Irish took on their own ratification process, was a matter for the Irish ...

There might just have been an argument to support the Lisbon Treaty (LT) in the 2008 Irish referendum, although I do not see it myself, but it is impossible to make a valid case to vote in favor of the LT in the forthcoming October 2009 referendum, as this second referendum in itself is a massive betrayal of the democratic will of the Irish people. At the 2008 referendum, which took place a year a...

The Guardian reports that Ken Clarke has softened Tory opposition to the Lisbon treaty. One suspects that many Conservatives are secretly not wanting an early election so that Lisbon can be ratified after an Irish referendum. But much more interesting is his strong reiteration of Conservative plans...

The Irish media reports that former Taoiseach John Bruton – now the EU’s Ambassador to the US – has called for a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. In an appearance at the newly formed Oireachtas Lisbon sub-committee he said that a re-run referendum needed to be preceded by a better information campaign, adding "It is fair to say that the Lisbon Treaty was written in such a ...

Irish Times Political Editor Stephan Collins has an article in the paper arguing that "a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty is doomed to almost certain defeat." He therefore suggests that the core of the Treaty should be passed through the Irish Parliament, with a far more limited referendum held on certain points of controversy: "If a referendum cannot be won, the only solution is for the D" ...

At least one Tory is being honest about attitudes to the EU.... Clarke's 'No' to EU Vote. "If the Irish referendum endorses the treaty and ratification comes into effect, then our settled policy is quite clear that the treaty will not be reopened. And that would allow David Cameron to wriggle out of a potentially deep hole. It always amazes me how many Conservatives think of the Par...

A flurry of BBC reports surrounding the recent referendum in Ireland has once again displayed the continued pro-EU bias in the BBC's supposedly 'neutral' and 'impartial' output. BBC stories about the referendum result, discussing what the Conservatives now intend to do about the Lisbon Treaty and on questions about Czech ratification were all peppered with the subtly biase...

Irish PM admits second Lisbon referendum will be considered The Irish Independent reports that Taoiseach Brian Cowen has conceded the government will have to consider a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. He said: "I'm saying it's simply a matter the Government have to consider in due course.

A Conservative government could hold a referendum on the European Union's Lisbon Treaty even if it has already been ratified William Hague has said.