The "Protocols" given to the Irish are worthless. Not one word of the Lisbon Treaty has changed. Every argument for a No vote still stands.
Meanwhile, if David Cameron really is against Lisbon, then he will promise not to ratify it if it has not been ratified on his becoming Prime Minister, with no need of a referendum. He won't, because he isn't. If you want a British referendum, then you just want the matter to be decided over the preceding month by the BBC, as happened in 1975.
"The "Protocols" given to the Irish are worthless"
ReplyDeleteInteresting. All the qualified constitutional lawyers I've spoken to about this disagree. Still, what do they know, eh?
Not one word of the Treaty itself has changed. Gordon Brown has even said so on the floor of the House of Commons. These Protocols are worthless. Such things always are. They might as well be the contents of greetings cards or whatever, which have exactly as much legal force.
ReplyDelete"Not one word of the Treaty itself has changed. Gordon Brown has even said so on the floor of the House of Commons"
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't need to. The protocols give the Irish protection against various clauses. These are legally binding, in the sense that the relevant clauses will not apply to the Irish, the Irish will not implement them, and they cannot be compelled to do them.
This is the expert opinion of qualified lawyers. What are your qualifications in constitutional law, by the way?
Then they are liars, like the ones who said that the Iraq War was legal.
ReplyDeleteThese things have no force at all, and the Irish electorate knows it. That is the whole point of them. And, again, the Irish electorate knows it.
Only the text of the Treaty matters. And it has not changed.
We spat on the Foreign Minster when the last no vote was announced. This time can we spit on Sam and his "constitutional lawyers" too, for trying to lie us into the mass murder of our babies?
ReplyDeleteYou can queue up to do so behind the trade unionists, the fishermen (not mentioned at all in these Protocols, of course) and everyone else. Have fun.
ReplyDeleteWell now I'm confused. On the one hand, Sam, who sounds like a lawyer, and at the very least has spoken to lawyers, says they count. On the other hand David - who has a blog, and read theology, and, er, is a school governor? says they're worthless.
ReplyDeleteNow I really don't know who to believe.
If the No side has the wit to do as it has already done once and expose this evil Treaty for what it really is - the introduction of abortion into Ireland - then you people are going to lose your second referendum. Deal with it.
ReplyDelete