Should there be a referendum on the EU Lisbon Treaty?

[Wezzo]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7277644.stm

The House of Commons votes on whether there should be a referendum on the EU Lisbon Treaty in the UK tonight.

Should there be a referendum on the treaty - and do you support the treaty in the first place?

I'm pro-treaty and anti-referendum. (Please, stop with the pie-throwing ) I refuse to believe that the general public have anywhere near the in-depth knowledge of the treaty required to vote on the treaty.

I do have a problem with Labour reneging on their referendum promise.. but I don't think they should have made it in the first place. We don't have referendums on every bill that passes through Parliament, we elect representatives to look at these things in detail and make their decisions on our behalf. I know that probably sounds quite naive - but I'm not suggesting we shouldn't be critical of the politicians that represent us; rather, that we should leave matters that the average Joe doesn't really know about to be decided by those who do.

(Incidentally I haven't included a poll option for the Lib Dem opinion that there should be a vote on staying in the EU in general; I think that might have led to too many poll options..)

[Chocolate Fan]

I'm definately for the treaty. As much as I am proud to be both Scottish and British, I think the oppertunities that connections with Eurpoe bring are invaluable and, although there are clearly issues regarding immigration and so on, I think it's still a valuable union.

I like the idea of a referendum. It's a big decision and I think everyone should have a say in the matter. But I'd rather that the British public went to the polls and the government made a decision knowing the feelings of the British public. That's why I've voted yes/yes.

[Mayday Malone]

Second option. Most definitely.

Sure Europe has benefits but there's a limit.

[welshben23]

Second option. Most definitely.

Sure Europe has benefits but there's a limit.

I feel the same way.

[DHP]

I'm all for closer links with Europe.

[Mayday Malone]

I understand the government has won this argument so its pointless continuing on with desiring a referendum. God forbid this government should ever allow...something.

[Rodge]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7277644.stm

The House of Commons votes on whether there should be a referendum on the EU Lisbon Treaty in the UK tonight.

Should there be a referendum on the treaty - and do you support the treaty in the first place?

I'm pro-treaty and anti-referendum. (Please, stop with the pie-throwing ) I refuse to believe that the general public have anywhere near the in-depth knowledge of the treaty required to vote on the treaty.

I do have a problem with Labour reneging on their referendum promise.. but I don't think they should have made it in the first place. We don't have referendums on every bill that passes through Parliament, we elect representatives to look at these things in detail and make their decisions on our behalf. I know that probably sounds quite naive - but I'm not suggesting we shouldn't be critical of the politicians that represent us; rather, that we should leave matters that the average Joe doesn't really know about to be decided by those who do.

(Incidentally I haven't included a poll option for the Lib Dem opinion that there should be a vote on staying in the EU in general; I think that might have led to too many poll options..)

There is no naivity there Wez, you make a very good point throughout. I had to vote slightly differently, becasue I still believe on big issues such as this (and a war for example!! ) that people have the right to vote. That is just my belief. My opinion however sort of shadows yours (and is incredibly elitist by the way), that most joe public, haven't got a clue as to what is within the treaty and many especially Sun readers are highly jingoistic to the point of racism, and hence any chance of the EU Treaty would die a death before it even got off the ground.

[Mr Blue Sky]

Yes I support the treaty but also think there should be a referendum.

I think many of the Sun readers' Rodge talks about won't even be arsed to vote on this (yes, I realise that is incredibly elitist too! ). Let's face it, public turnout for the biggest issue of all, who should run our country, has been in sharp decline. Public apathy rules.

I do have a problem with Labour reneging on their referendum promise.. but I don't think they should have made it in the first place. We don't have referendums on every bill that passes through Parliament, we elect representatives to look at these things in detail and make their decisions on our behalf. I know that probably sounds quite naive - but I'm not suggesting we shouldn't be critical of the politicians that represent us; rather, that we should leave matters that the average Joe doesn't really know about to be decided by those who do.

I agree in part that we elect representatives to look after these often complex decisions for us but my major problem is that Labour were re-elected in 2005 partly on the back of a promise of a public referendum. Now Gordon Brown is reneging on that promise, trying to claim it's a different treaty when many experts believe it's virtually identical. Morally he HAS to go to the public with this, and I'm not surprised the Tories and Lib Dems are using this issue as a big stick to beat him over the head with.

[Moon-Crane]

As much as i actually like countries such as France, Italy, etc, i'd prefer to work out some sort of deal with the United States, who we have more in common with, culturally. That's an aside though.

I would prefer to see a referendum, simply because it affects peoples' lives to see power over certain things taken away from these shores. You can say people aren't informed enough to understand all the Treaty might mean, but then are they informed enough to elect those politicians in the first place? We, thankfully, haven't yet decided that there are more suitable people to decide who should run the UK and do away with elections altogether. As entering this treaty involves relinquishing powers outside of our borders then i do think our citizens have every right to voice an opinion, especially when it was promised by these elected bodies that we are meant to trust so much. They can spin it all they like, but this was part of the election manifesto, whatever different name the treaty had back then.

It probably tells me a lot about how much i can trust a so-called responsible representative to do what's in the best interest of us all, rather than the best interest of themselves, when they can change the rules at a whim to suit their very own agenda.

I'm happy to see greater freedom of movement across borders, actually, but to know we will have the power of veto removed from certain law/immigration/social policies being enforced in the UK, then it needs scrutiny. There's so many different ideologies in the wonderful patchwork quilt of Europe, that i simply can't see how blanket laws across all nationals can work effectively.