"Conservative Policy on Lisbon Referendum is a Let Down says Lead UKIP Candidate at Brentwood School debate''

Commenting after an often fiery European issues debate at Brentwood School, in Brentwood, Essex on the official opening day of the European Election Campaign (28th April), David Campbell Bannerman, UKIP Deputy Leader and Lead MEP Candidate for the Eastern Counties, attacked the Conservatives for their policy on the Lisbon Treaty, and Labour and the Liberal Democrats for their disgraceful betrayal in denying people a referendum on that treaty.

Mr Campbell Bannerman said: “Three quarters of the Conservative Party members are eurosceptic and they have been badly let down by their own leadership. Conservative policy on a Lisbon Treaty referendum is simply to let other countries decide the future of our own: if the Poles, Czechs or the Irish stop Lisbon before they get into Government, they’ll have a referendum. But what if Lisbon is already ratified by then? They will do nothing about it - just meekly accept it. That is just not good enough. Only by lending their vote to UKIP can Tories send a strong No vote on Lisbon!”

“For the Conservative candidate here (John Flack) to claim that the Conservative leadership has given an “unequivocal” commitment to a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty is just nonsense. The policy is equivocal, and misleading. In short, the Tories would let Lisbon stay because it would be illegal then to reverse the treaty. Only by leaving the EU can we get rid of Lisbon - and polls show 55%-60% of the British electorate want to trade happily with the EU but not be in the superstate, which is exactly UKIP’s position”.

“As former Tory and £5 million donor Stuart Wheeler says: “The public know that the EU is incompetent, ineffective, hidebound and riven with fraud but the current political class in Westminster don't want to talk about it. By voting UKIP, they can be heard.”

Campbell Bannerman continues: “The Liberal Democrats can hardly claim they are still democrats anymore, having conspired with Labour to deny the British people a referendum on Lisbon. Over 70% of all Britons from all parties wanted a referendum, and the Lib Dems and Labour both tore up their manifesto commitments to hold referendums. Pretending that Lisbon is “wholly different” to the Constitution, when Giscard d’Estaing, who wrote the Constitution, claims it is different only in “approach rather than content” and the former Irish Prime Minister says it is 95% the same; is a bigger lie even than over Iraq.”

“UKIP says Labour and the Lib Dems should both be punished roundly at these Euro elections for their democratic contempt by kicking out the two sitting MEPs”.