Britons would vote against EU constitution

Polls show majority Britons would vote against EU constitution

LONDON (AP): A majority of Britons would vote against a European Union
constitution in a referendum on the issue, according to polls published
Sunday.

An ICM poll for The Sunday Telegraph newspaper found that the proposed
constitution would be rejected by 68 percent of voters. Only 21 percent
would back the treaty, it said.

Prime Minister Tony Blair, an ardent pro-European who wants Britain to
be at the heart of EU decision making, announced Tuesday a referendum
on the constitution.

Blair has said he hopes a referendum will foster a balanced, sensible
public debate on whether Britain should integrate more closely with the
EU. But the move is considered a political gamble that could scupper
the treaty and threaten his own career.

A second ICM poll, for the News of the World newspaper, reported that
55 percent of respondents would vote "no'' to the constitution, while
25 percent would say "yes.''

The News of the World poll also found that 51 percent of people wanted
to remain in the EU, while 36 percent would vote to quit the European
body.

Thirty-five percent of respondents said their opinion of Blair had
gone down following his decision to hold a referendum, while 10 percent
said their estimation had gone up and 51 percent said it was unchanged.

The constitution, currently being negotiated in Brussels, Belgium,
aims to streamline decision making in the EU when it accepts 10 new
members in May. It aims to boost the bloc's role on the world stage by
creating an EU president and foreign minister. It also proposes closer
defense cooperation.

All 25 member states must ratify the constitution for it to come into
force. Blair said last week he did not know what the way forward for
Europe would be in the result of a "no'' vote.

The Sunday Telegraph poll surveyed 1,000 voters on Wednesday and
Thursday while the News of the World poll interviewed 1,010 adults by
telephone over April 22 to 24. The margin of error for both surveys was
plus or minus three percent.

"Go Fig" schreef in bericht
...
Polls show majority Britons would vote against EU constitution

Brits are very conservative on average. If they don't want to be a real
member of the EU, they are free to become a state of the USA. Bye, bye, GB.

Sjoerd

In article ,
"Sjoerd" wrote:

"Go Fig" schreef in bericht
...
Polls show majority Britons would vote against EU constitution

Brits are very conservative on average. If they don't want to be a real
member of the EU, they are free to become a state of the USA. Bye, bye, GB.

Wonder why the other E.U. members just don't vote them out

"Go Fig" wrote in message
...
Polls show majority Britons would vote against EU constitution

LONDON (AP): A majority of Britons would vote against a European Union
constitution in a referendum on the issue, according to polls published
Sunday.

Even though most have only the vaguest notion of what it's all about.

"Sjoerd" wrote in message
...

"Go Fig" schreef in bericht
...
Polls show majority Britons would vote against EU constitution

Brits are very conservative on average. If they don't want to be a real
member of the EU, they are free to become a state of the USA.

Although, as you must know, any nation voting against the so-called
"constitution" (really only a treaty), would continue to be a full member of
the European Union.

Sjoerd wrote:

"Go Fig" schreef in bericht
...
Polls show majority Britons would vote against EU constitution

Brits are very conservative on average. If they don't want to be a real
member of the EU, they are free to become a state of the USA. Bye, bye, GB.

That's uncommonly myopic of you, I think. Many of the EU members would
not support the constitution as it currently stands, if they were given
a vote on it- indeed one rejected it until it got a second vote _after_
the changes they wanted were incorporated. The Euro wouldn't have been
adopted by many of the countries that now have it either, if it had been
done on the basis of a vote.

On a wider issue, there are quite a few issues in the structure of EU
which are bothering people, the more they hear about it. The recent
corruption scandal for a start, and this ongoing madness whereby
practically the entire parliament has to commute between Brussels and
Strasbourg- something which is already getting much worse as the new
countries prepare to join.

Although the smaller countries like to pretend that they're full members
of the EU, in reality it's the economic power of the three largest
countries which define the shape of it. It's all very well saying the UK
can leave when it wants- well, for a start, it _doesn't_ want, and if it
did, it would have incredibly serious ramifications for the EU's entire
structure.

Besides, while I'd welcome at long last an honest debate in the UK on
the EU- instead of the mostly right-wing tabloid scare-mongering, what
on earth is _wrong_ with having a healthy skepticism of the EU? My own
feeling on this is that most EU citizens just tend to accept what goes
on at a European level- many don't really know how it operates as a
body, and unless an issue affects them directly, they don't really know
or care what goes on.

David

--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk

In article , Wolfgang Schwanke
wrote:

"Sjoerd" wrote in
:


"Go Fig" schreef in bericht
...
Polls show majority Britons would vote against EU constitution

Brits are very conservative on average.

I don't think there's anything conservative about it.
It's democratic and, IMHO, realistic.

If they don't want to be a
real member of the EU, they are free to become a state of the USA.
Bye, bye, GB.

They want to be a member, but they don't want a "constitution".
Only states need a constitution, other entities don't.

You need to provide for interstate commerce, common defence, equal
protection under the law across state boarders and a High Court of
final arbitration. More than likely an Executive as well.

But at over 300 pages, the EU constitution has tackled quite a bit more
I would guess.

jay
Sun Apr 25, 2004




Regards

Go Fig schrieb:
Polls show majority Britons would vote against EU constitution

LONDON (AP): A majority of Britons would vote against a European Union
constitution in a referendum on the issue, according to polls published
Sunday.


the beginning of the end of the EU.
25 memebers and no chance to make decisions in the future.....
What comes next?

On 25/4/04 3:50, in article , "Sjoerd"
wrote:


"Go Fig" schreef in bericht
...
Polls show majority Britons would vote against EU constitution

Brits are very conservative on average. If they don't want to be a real
member of the EU, they are free to become a state of the USA. Bye, bye, GB.

They already are, except without the right to elect congressmen. Plus, our
state governor Tony Bliar has less influence in Washington than any US town
dog-catcher.

J;

"Go Fig" wrote in message
...
Polls show majority Britons would vote against EU constitution

LONDON (AP): A majority of Britons would vote against a European Union
constitution in a referendum on the issue, according to polls published
Sunday.

An ICM poll for The Sunday Telegraph newspaper found that the proposed
constitution would be rejected by 68 percent of voters. Only 21 percent
would back the treaty, it said.

Prime Minister Tony Blair, an ardent pro-European who wants Britain to
be at the heart of EU decision making, announced Tuesday a referendum
on the constitution.

Blair has said he hopes a referendum will foster a balanced, sensible
public debate on whether Britain should integrate more closely with the
EU. But the move is considered a political gamble that could scupper
the treaty and threaten his own career.

A second ICM poll, for the News of the World newspaper, reported that
55 percent of respondents would vote "no'' to the constitution, while
25 percent would say "yes.''

The News of the World poll also found that 51 percent of people wanted
to remain in the EU, while 36 percent would vote to quit the European
body.

Thirty-five percent of respondents said their opinion of Blair had
gone down following his decision to hold a referendum, while 10 percent
said their estimation had gone up and 51 percent said it was unchanged.

The constitution, currently being negotiated in Brussels, Belgium,
aims to streamline decision making in the EU when it accepts 10 new
members in May. It aims to boost the bloc's role on the world stage by
creating an EU president and foreign minister. It also proposes closer
defense cooperation.

All 25 member states must ratify the constitution for it to come into
force. Blair said last week he did not know what the way forward for
Europe would be in the result of a "no'' vote.

The Sunday Telegraph poll surveyed 1,000 voters on Wednesday and
Thursday while the News of the World poll interviewed 1,010 adults by
telephone over April 22 to 24. The margin of error for both surveys was
plus or minus three percent.



And all of this from a background of almost complete ignorance.
There should be an intelligence test and a test of the knowledge of that
proposed constitution for anyone to be allowed to vote.