Brown Wins Liberal Support to Clear EU Treaty in U.K. (Update1)

By Mark Deen

June 18 (Bloomberg) -- Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords plan to back Prime Minister Gordon Brown by approving the European Union governing treaty, clearing the way for British ratification of the document rejected by Irish voters.

``We should finish the process, just as the Irish have completed theirs,'' Lord Tom McNally, leader of the 76 Liberal Democrats in the upper chamber, said in an interview. ``Our intention is to see the bill pass. We're not going to fall into the Conservative elephant traps along the way.''

The comments indicate that Brown's Labour government has enough strength in the House of Lords to win final approval for the Lisbon Treaty when lawmakers vote later today. The treaty can only take effect once all 27 EU countries endorse it. Irish voters vetoed it in a referendum last week.

Brown has rebuffed calls from the opposition Conservatives to drop or delay the House of Lords vote, saying Britain should make up its own mind about the treaty. The Conservatives alone don't have enough strength in the Lords to block the bill.

``It would be a great mistake to sign off on this,'' Lord David Howell, deputy leader of the Conservatives in the Lords, said in an interview. If changes are made to reassure the Irish people, ``we may have to start the whole ratification process again.''

So far 18 of the EU's 27 members have ratified the treaty, which is intended to streamline how the bloc is run and would establish a European president and foreign minister.

No `Bullying'

Because Britain is one of the countries where opposition to the treaty is fiercest, ratification by lawmakers may add to pressure on Ireland to vote again.

U.K. Foreign Secretary David Miliband pledged this week not to ``bully'' the Irish into reversing their vote, though the Conservatives say that by ratifying the text the government is doing just that. EU leaders will discuss the matter at a meeting in Brussels, starting tomorrow.

The Conservatives have proposed an amendment to the bill, calling for the vote on it to be postponed to Oct. 20 to give Parliament time to reflect on the ``changed circumstances'' brought about by the Irish referendum.

Public opinion is on Howell's side. Only 14 percent of British voters agreed with the statement that ``the government should carry on and ratify the Lisbon Treaty,'' according to a poll by YouGov Plc published yesterday.

Opinion Poll

Sixty-two percent of the 1,000 voters surveyed said the U.K. should either pull out of the EU or pull out of the ``political elements'' of the EU, YouGov said. No margin of error was given.

Conservative leader David Cameron ridiculed Brown, saying today that the Irish vote leaves the treaty ``dead'' and U.K. ratification would imply that Brown wants the Irish to vote again. Brown has rejected calls for a popular ballot in Britain.

``It would be ridiculous to allow the Irish to vote twice and not allow'' the British electorate to vote once, he said today in Parliament. ``I have seen more spine and leadership from a bunch of jellyfish.''

In response, Brown charged that the Conservatives' true agenda is withdrawal from the EU. ``This is not a position of principle, it is opposition for opposition's sake,'' he said.

The treaty has already cleared both the House of Commons, the elected chamber of Parliament, and two of the three readings required in the House of Lords. On the bill's second reading in the Lords last week, the day before the outcome of the Irish referendum was announced, it passed by a margin of 62 votes out of 498 lawmakers participating.

Close Decision

Today's decision will probably be closer, said Lord David Hannay, one of 201 lawmakers in the chamber who have no party affiliation. The results of votes in the Lords are harder to predict than those in the Commons because attendance of the 733 members of the chamber is more erratic.

The ruling Labour Party has 216 members in the upper house, compared with 201 for the Conservatives. Hannay, a former ambassador to the European Community and later the United Nations, said he will support the government's position and predicts that a majority in the chamber will as well.

``Procrastinating on this vote would be a mistake,'' Hannay said. ``It would not be in Britain's interest. If Britain wants to be in the European mainstream and able to lead the discussion from here, it will be in a much stronger position to do so if it has itself completed ratification.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Deen in London at markdeen@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 18, 2008 08:30 EDT

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