“The Conservative Eurosceptic millionaire Stuart Wheeler today lost his high court bid to force the government to hold a referendum on the EU’s Lisbon treaty.”
The Guardian, 25th June 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Gordon Brown has said Britain will not ratify the EU Treaty until the High Court has ruled on a separate bid to force a British referendum.”
BBC News, 20th June 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“The House of Lords has voted against holding a referendum on the EU Treaty – a day before the Irish Republic’s national ballot on the agreement.”
BBC News, 11th June 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“A millionaire businessman today won permission for a high court challenge over the government’s refusal to hold a referendum on the EU reform treaty.”
The Guardian, 2nd May 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“One of Britain’s richest men has hired Cherie Blair’s law firm to advise him on a £750,000 High Court battle that could force Gordon Brown to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.”
Daily Telegraph, 21st April 2008
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“Pressure for a national referendum on the Lisbon treaty intensified yesterday when a pressure group announced that more than 150,000 people took part in local ballots on the issue.”
The Times, 3rd March 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
“In the UK, treaty-making is a matter for the Crown acting in conjunction with Parliament. The few instances of referendums and the like are insufficient to give rise to a constitutional convention saying that a referendum must be held if a treaty such as the European Union (EU) Reform Treaty is to be ratified. Whether or not there should be a referendum on the EU Reform Treaty is therefore a political rather than a legal question. This is except for the idea once floated by the Conservative Party of holding a referendum after ratification with a view to backing out of the Reform Treaty if it found against it, which does have legal implications. The professed purpose of such a post-ratification referendum is to engineer a breach by the UK of a legally binding promise that it had entered into freely and in accordance with domestic procedures and processes.”
Legal Week, 15th November 2007
Source: www.legalweek.com
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