Sunday Telegraph berates Brown

A gutsy editorial which yet does not say the half of it in this morning's Telegraph, linked here. A sample:

A referendum on the new constitution would have given voters the opportunity to express their views, not just on the extension of the EU's powers, but on the way that it exercises the powers that it already has.

Mr Brown's determination to deny Britain's voters that opportunity means that the almost total lack of democratic legitimacy for the basis of our relationship with other members of the EU will continue.

Mr Brown's belief that the views of the British people on this topic should be ignored is at one with the conviction of the EU's bureaucrats, who learned a single lesson from the rejection of the Constitution by French and Dutch voters: never let the people decide anything.

Labour fought two elections on a manifesto that promised a referendum on the new EU constitution. The decision to abandon that commitment is a betrayal, not just of an election promise, but also of a fundamental part of any elected government's relationship with the British people.

In a democracy, the people are sovereign and should have the final say on the issues of by whom, and in accordance with what principles, they are governed. It is no exaggeration to say that, in preventing a referendum on the EU constitution, Gordon Brown is subverting democracy.

Mr Brown believes that British voters do not care about constitutional issues, and that the changes effected by the new EU constitution are too recondite to ignite their ire. We hope that events will prove him wrong.

If Mr Brown calls an early election, voters will get an opportunity to reciprocate the contempt for them that he has so clearly demonstrated. In the meantime, the next best thing is to sign the Telegraph's online petition for a referendum: that, at least, indicates that you are not prepared to let the Government take away your democratic rights without a fight.