Britse conservatieven heropenen debat over Lissabon referendum (en)
The UK Conservatives would not push for a referendum on the Lisbon treaty if it has been ratified by the Irish by the time they come to power, a senior party member has said.
"If the Irish referendum endorses the [Lisbon] treaty and ratification comes into effect, then our settled policy is quite clear that the treaty will not be reopened," shadow business secretary Ken Clarke – one of the party's most pro-European members – told the BBC's The Politics Show on Sunday (14 June).
"But it has also been said by David Cameron - and he means it - that it will not rest there, and he will want to start discussions on divisions of competence between national states and the centre of the EU."
The Tories won both the local and the European elections in the UK last week, as voters severly punished the governing Labour Party. Conservative leader David Cameron has repeatedly called for early elections - in which his party would be the most likely winner.
During the election campaign, Mr Cameron had promised to hold a referendum on the Lisbon treaty if he comes into power before it is ratified in all EU states, as well as to call for the EU to return powers to London.
Earlier this month, the Tory leader tabled a bill under which a UK referendum would be held together with Ireland's second vote on the treaty, expected to take place in the autumn.
According to a report in the Irish Times on Monday, the referendum in Ireland could take place as early as the last week of September or the first week of October.
Mr Cameron did not explain what he would do if the Lisbon Treaty was already in force by the time the Tories got into power, saying only that he "would not let matters rest there."
But Mr Clarke pointed out that the Tories would not request "a solemn treaty renegotiation" in such a case.
"We are talking about sensible discussions about the proper division of responsibilities between nations and the EU in limited areas [such as employment law]," he said.
His remarks were quick to draw reactions from all sides.
Eurosceptic Tory MP Bill Cash accused Mr Clarke of "re-invent[ing] unilaterally Conservative Party policy on the whole of the Lisbon Treaty and European policy."
UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage, who advocates withdrawal from the EU and whose party came second in the European elections, said: "The Conservatives have no intention of holding a referendum on the Lisbon treaty and all their promises during the European election campaign about holding one can now be seen to be sheer, brass-necked dishonesty. "
Meanwhile, Labour party foreign secretary David Miliband said Mr Clarke's remarks were a proof that the Conservatives' policy on Europe was "in disarray."
"Kenneth Clarke knows that Tory policy to 'not to let matters rest' on the Lisbon Treaty is harebrained and dangerous for British business, but his leader and shadow foreign secretary are committed to it," he was reported as saying by the BBC.
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