Referendum - Demands From the Left

The Daily Telegraph published an another story last week on the issue EU Treaty issue this one headed: "Unions urge EU treaty referendum".

The article records, as the headline would suggest, the GMB general union, which has 590,000 members and is affiliated to the Labour Party, has joined the fray, declaring that the treaty-to-be is "substantially the same as the European Constitutional Treaty" and is demanding that the government should "honour" its commitment made before the last general election to put the new treaty to the British people

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Paul Kenny, GMB general secretary, is cited, saying that the Labour Party's promise at the last election to hold a vote should not be abandoned. "The pledge was right at the time of the general election and it is right now."On top of that, The Telegraph reports that Unison, the public service union, has declared that it will campaign for a "no" vote if a referendum is held. Opposition to the treaty from the heart of the Labour movement, says the paper, means Mr Brown now faces demands from both the Left and Right for a referendum.