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Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Intergovernmental Organisations Select Committee

Dear Lord Soley,

As the terms of reference of the Intergovernmental Organisations Committee are:

To consider how contemporary issues of international policy are addressed through United Kingdom membership of intergovernmental organisations (excluding the European Union), including their impact and effectiveness and value for money.

Won't the Lisbon Treaty, if fully ratified, negate the powers, expertise and impartiality of your committee? Would full ratification of the treaty, together with the other EU treaties already ratified, not mean that your committee, and indeed our government, would largely become a rubber stamp for the EU?

And does that not suggest that the Lisbon Treaty is Constitutional treaty?

For that reason alone - and because all three political parties made manifesto promises to give the people a referendum on a constitutional treaty or change - the people of our country must surely be entitled to vote on whether or not we agree to a treaty which would affect all of our lives and our children's and grandchildren's lives?

I'm the co-organiser of Harlow's I Want a Referendum campaign. Our campaign began last September with a public meeting at our local Women's Institute hall. It was unanimously agreed at the meeting that we would collect a petition calling for a referendum. Our cross party group of volunteers received such overwhelming support for the petition and more people joined our campaign.

One time I asked a young woman who was filling shelves in a supermarket if she would like to sign the petition, she joined us there and then. We're people from all walks of life, mostly just ordinary working people, a couple of us run small businesses.

From the response to our petition, it was evident that the majority of Harlow people are very strongly against the Lisbon Treaty and want a referendum. We therefore decided to organise a DIY People's Referendum in Harlow - using recycled cardboard boxes, painted to look like ballot boxes, and held at shops, homes and offices all over Harlow. We had just begun asking local printers to donate ballot papers for this when I Want A Referendum contacted us to ask if we would like funding for a professional ballot. We jumped at the opportunity.

We had, however, just 19 days for us volunteers to leaflet and campaign across the whole of Harlow and a number of villages. Ballot papers could only be sent to those who had either not opted out of the public register of electors - as a significant proportion of people had done - or to those 'opt outs' who requested ballot papers in time.

We worked our socks off canvassing and leafleting in freezing weather. Some of the most active of us left work at 5 or 6 PM and didn't get home until 11 PM every night of the campaign. This really was people's campaign.

Given the financial and time constraints, the result achieved was astounding. 38.6% of those balloted voted, 90% of those who voted were against the Lisbon Treaty and over 88% want a Referendum.

Please, Lord Soley, and other Lords of the Blog, back our people's campaign for democracy.

Colleen Morrison

P.S. I love your Lord of the Blog!