Democracy's fightback making steady progress

In spite of the Scots leader of the Lib/Dems joining his Scottish compatriot the Prime Minister in breaking his party's manifesto pledge to support a referendum, farewell Lib/Dems , things elsewhere are progressing steadily towards an awakening of the larger public to the emerging tyranny they now face. The following comes from the latest Open Europe press summary:

Unions demand referendum on revived EU Constitution

The Trades Union Congress has voted in favour of a referendum on the revised EU Constitution, increasing pressure on Gordon Brown to hold a vote. Colin Moses, from the Prison Officers Association, said: "We have had a belly full of broken promises and what we have here is another broken promise. Promises should not be made in the heat of an election, they should be kept and they should be brave enough to go to the people of this country and ask them. And if they say 'no', that should be the answer." Bob Crow, General Secretary of the RMT, added: "If it is good enough for the Irish to have a vote in a referendum, then it should be good enough for British workers. We should have the arguments and a full debate. People should be able to decide their own destiny."

The Mail quotes I Want a Referendum Chairman Derek Scott saying: "The Government are going to come under increasing pressure to keep their promise to hold a referendum. Trade unions are in tune with their members and the overwhelming majority of voters. The Government should listen to them." The Guardian website reports that the vote "follows on the heels of the launch of the cross-party 'I want a referendum' campaign, which was endorsed by several Labour MPs... whatever the outcome of the campaign for a referendum, it is clear that Europe is not just a rightwing preoccupation." A leader in the Mail describes Brown's refusal to hold a referendum as "an embarrassing stain on his otherwise impressive record at No. 10".