The Treaty of Lisbon, which would have involved an unprecedented transfer of powers from our nation to the EU, was soundly rejected by the Irish - the only people in Europe to be given a say - in their Referendum on June 12th.

Because the Treaty must be ratified by all 27 EU members, it is now just as dead as the EU Constitution rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005. After that rejection, the other EU states - Britain included - quite correctly halted their own ratification process.

This time, however, in a colossal act of disrespect to the Irish people and to democracy itself, our Labour Government has pushed on with the ratification - forcing the Treaty through the House of Lords and obtaining Royal Assent on June 19th - a full week after the certain death of the Lisbon Treaty.

It was bad enough that Mr Brown was able to renege on his clear promise of a Referendum in Labour's 2005 Manifesto. This was why I campaigned in Referendum Action Days right across the East of England to inform the public and hear their views about the EU Constitution.

Thousands signed my Petition on the Downing Street Website or completed our postcards calling for a Referendum. You can download a .pdf version of my Postcard here. Overwhelmingly people supported our demand for a Referendum.

Now to show his disrespect for the will of the people Mr Brown has joined the plotting and planning in Brussels to find a way to get the Treaty through by other means.

So the battleground has shifted - and we must make the Government understand the simple truth that no means no.

In the words of Margaret Thatcher when getting the British rebate:

"if you're single minded there's no reason you cannot achieve your objectives."

The Stealth Constitution, Wall Street Journal, 7 May 2007

eDispatch June 2007 pre-Summit

eDispatch June 2007 post-Summit