Labour to discipline MPs for wanting to honour manifesto pledge
Four Labour MPs, all of whom are former ministers, are facing the threat of disciplinary action from the Labour party because they want Labour to honour the manifesto commitment to hold a referendum on the European Union reform treaty.
Every other government in Europe, and every remotely independent body who has compared the two treaties, says that the new reform treaty is substantially the same as the constitutional treaty which was voted down by French and Dutch voters and on which all three main parties in Britain promised at the last election to hold a referendum. The Labour government are just about the only people in Europe who consider the two documents to be different.
The four MPs concerned are Frank Field, Kate Hoey, Graham Stringer and Gisela Stuart. Ms. Stuart was one of the British representatives on the body which actually drafted the original EU consitutional proposals. So if anyone is quailified to say that the new document is largely the same, she is.
The four rebels have been given a dressing down by Labour Chief Whip Geoff Hoon and threatened by Mr Hoon with having the party whip withdrawn over their involvement with the I Want A Referendum (IWAR) group.
But the four MPs facing disciplinary action argue that Labour must stick to its commitment in its 2005 General Election manifesto to hold a referendum on the EU Constitution.
Every other government in Europe, and every remotely independent body who has compared the two treaties, says that the new reform treaty is substantially the same as the constitutional treaty which was voted down by French and Dutch voters and on which all three main parties in Britain promised at the last election to hold a referendum. The Labour government are just about the only people in Europe who consider the two documents to be different.
The four MPs concerned are Frank Field, Kate Hoey, Graham Stringer and Gisela Stuart. Ms. Stuart was one of the British representatives on the body which actually drafted the original EU consitutional proposals. So if anyone is quailified to say that the new document is largely the same, she is.
The four rebels have been given a dressing down by Labour Chief Whip Geoff Hoon and threatened by Mr Hoon with having the party whip withdrawn over their involvement with the I Want A Referendum (IWAR) group.
But the four MPs facing disciplinary action argue that Labour must stick to its commitment in its 2005 General Election manifesto to hold a referendum on the EU Constitution.
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