Britse Conservatieven maken Lissabon-verdrag tot thema bij Europese verkiezingen (en)
The British Conservatives on Monday (28 June) raised the political stakes ahead of the June European elections by making a referendum on the EU's Lisbon Treaty one of the central themes of their campaign.
Conservative leader David Cameron said voters had the opportunity to make the Labour government's "next U-turn an EU-turn."
He spoke in front of the party's latest poster depicting prime minister Gordon Brown with the caption saying "Tell Labour you want the referendum they promised. Vote Conservative on the 4th June."
He called the treaty "hugely significant" adding: "It is, by all accounts, a constitution. That is why we are making this such an important issue at these European elections."
"While [Mr Brown] has chopped and changed, our position has remained exactly the same. We are the only major party to have consistently said it is up to the British people to decide on our future in Europe.
"That's why we have pledged that if the constitution is not in force in the event of the election of a Conservative government this year or next, we will hold a referendum on it, urge a No vote, and – if successful – reverse Britain's ratification."
The Conservative's move comes as Labour has taken a further bashing in the polls following its latest budget to deal with the economic crisis.
A survey conducted for the Independent newspaper put the Conservatives on 45 percent (up five points) and Labour on 26 percent (down 2 points).
The Conservatives are widely expected to win the next general election as well as beat Labour in the June elections.
Mr Cameron did not elaborate on what his party would do if the Lisbon treaty was already in force by the time they got into power, saying only that he "would not let matters rest there."
The referendum pledge is being interpreted in British media as an attempt to steal some of the electoral thunder from the UK Independence Party as well as trying to appease some of the more hardline eurosceptics of the Conservative party.
The referendum issue has simmered since the Labour government said it would have a public poll on the failed EU constitution. It then said said no referendum was needed on its successor, the Lisbon Treaty - something decried by the opposition who say it contains most of the innovations of the EU constitution.
The Lisbon treaty has not yet been ratified in the Czech Republic and faces a referendum later this year in Ireland. Poland has yet to complete the final step of ratification while in Germany the treaty is facing a court challenge.
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