Voters support an EU referendum . No fewer than 89 per cent of voters said "No" to the treaty.

[Henk Elegeert]

REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/03/03/dl0301.xml

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Voters support an EU referendum
Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 03/03/2008

Not for the first time, the political class has been caught off guard.
The consensus was that nobody much cared about the European
Constitution (now the Lisbon Treaty). The campaign for a referendum
went largely unreported.

Ours was the only newspaper to cover last week's lobby of the House of
Commons. Elsewhere, five demonstrators on the roof of the building
were considered more newsworthy than thousands of concerned citizens
queuing politely beneath. Meanwhile, the fact that 10 constituencies
were casting representative votes for the rest of us was chiefly
ignored.

Well, it can't be ignored now. The results are astonishing, and have
left opponents of a referendum opening and closing their mouths like
Appalachian mountain men.

No fewer than 89 per cent of voters said "No" to the treaty. And
turnout was higher than anyone had expected: 36.2 per cent, in line
with parliamentary by-elections, higher than local elections,
substantially higher than European elections.

This is more than a rejection of the European Constitution. It is a
victory by the long-suffering, unconsulted voters over the political
elite. Word spread by email; local meetings were held; teams of
volunteers tramped from house to house. At a time when MPs are already
held in contempt, these ballots demonstrate quite how out of touch
they have become.
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