I Want A Referendum: Govt has lost argument

Campaign group I Want A Referendum says the Lisbon treaty will lack legitimacy if it is ratified by parliament.

Its chairman, Derek Scott, claimed the government had "lost the argument" on whether to hold a referendum, pointing to a YouGov poll showing 94 per cent of voters do not believe it is different to the abandoned constitution.

"Despite all the pompous talk about how MPs know best and the voters cannot be trusted, the government has bludgeoned the bill through the Commons with as little discussion as possible. This shabby tactic may come back to haunt them in the Lords," he warned.

Mr Scott said the government's tactic of playing down the bill's significance would be frustrated by ongoing debate in the upper house, where he said the pro-referendum campaign has a "better chance of winning".

"If Nick Clegg keeps his promise to make Liberal Democrat peers abstain then there is every chance that the Lords will vote for a referendum," he suggested.