EU treaty referendum vote in Lords

Wednesday, 11 June 2008 12:01 AM

The government will be hoping to end debate on whether the Lisbon treaty deserves a referendum in parliament later today.

The EU (amendments) bill is before the Lords today with peers expected to vote on whether the treaty resembles the abandoned constitution, which all political parties had pledged a public vote on.

Ireland will hold its own ratifying referendum tomorrow but, if tomorrow's vote fails, there will not be a similar vote in Britain.

Insiders say the government is likely to defeat the opposition amendment demanding a referendum thanks to support from the Liberal Democrats, who have U-turned on their Commons policy of abstention.

Opposition peers remain upbeat and there is hope that with crossbench support the vote could be close, however.

Monday saw two votes on the extension of the EU's role narrowly won by the government, which held a majority of 30 on the opt-in clause issue. This was cut to 16 on the powers of the European court of justice's powers in relation to British courts.

The narrow margin of victory, combined with the relatively high turnout seen yesterday, suggests the Lords opposition may have a chance of sneaking an unexpected win. They require the support of crossbenchers, however, who will take some persuading after being easily won over on Monday.

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