A post-ratification referendum on Lisbon does matter. It matters because of the mass of provisions over almost every aspect of our daily lives provided for in the treaty, for what it now means to undemocratic governance in Britain, and in the interests of democracy. The Westminster Parliament has become a sham, or a conveyor belt, in which 70% of our laws originate from Brussels and are accepted blindly by politicians at Westminster.
All three key political parties pledged a referendum. All three political parties have now abandoned that promise, in their own unique ways, and the electorate’s faith in politics – in return for the ability for a politician to do something in line with their wishes – is dying its death. The British people are sick of the traitors who govern them.
Those who hold the power in the mainstream parliamentary parties, who simply choose to renege on promises when the going gets tough, are watching their votes slip to ever-extreme parties with increasingly dangerous messages on Europe and immigration. And we have a General Election approaching. I would not have thought the Tory party would have joined the ranks of the mainstream who had abandoned their promises and integrity on an issue so central to the governance of the United Kingdom.
So, there goes Mr. Cameron’s promise. And now we wait. What for? All I can advise is that voters will not look favourably on another empty, referendum-less, policy-less mandate. They wanted their say and it has been denied.