On the Treaty, the Irish should decide it for Cameron

Bill Emmott, former editor of the Economist makes the best case for the Tories to abandon their qualified pledge to hold a UK referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. The real case for voting Yes tomorrow comes from Dan O’Brien below. These two pieces are about authentic Big Picture politics neither Ireland nor the UK can afford to ignore, however poorly the Treaty is regarded. There is a bonus point for the Irish in shaping a big part of the course British poltiics once again, after the gap of about a century.

Since 25 governments have accepted it, and since their peoples have not shown that they care much about the treaty nor about the denial of their right to vote on it, it is time to give up. If the Irish vote yes, the game is over.

Meanwhile Bruce Anderson, pro-Tory Indy columnist attributes the Sun’s switch of support to the Tories, not to the unfortunate Brown but to Tony Blair’s “betrayal” in going back on his word all the way back in 2005.

Rupert Murdoch has invariably taken a robustly patriotic stance on Europe, so much so that he deserves a posthumous pardon for any of his ancestors that were transported. But Tony Blair used The Sun to announce that there would be a referendum. Mr Murdoch was delighted, the Eurosceptics felt relieved, the Euro-fanatics were dismayed. They were all misled. None of them realised that the Government would break its word.

Brian Walker

Former BBC journalist and manager in Belfast, Manchester and London, Editor Spolight; Political Editor BBC NI; Current Affairs Commissioning editor BBC Radio 4; Editor Political and Parliamentary Programmes, BBC Westminster; former London Editor Belfast Telegraph. Hon Senior Research Fellow, The Constitution Unit, Univ Coll. London