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		"New Treaty will undermine EU" says MEP Wednesday, 12th March 2008 The EU's Lisbon Treaty, regarded by many as essentially the failed EU Constitution by another name, will threaten the democratic legitimacy of the European whole project, according to East Midlands MEP Roger Helmer. Speaking the the parliament in Strasbourg today, he drew attention to the recent postal ballots by the "I want a referendum" campaign in ten Westminster constituencies, including Gedling in the East Midlands, in which 88% of voters wanted a referendum, and 89% rejected the Treaty. The turnout, at over 36%, was described by commentators as "stunning" for a private poll. Over 150,000 voters responded altogether. In six constituencies, including Gedling, the number of votes for a referendum was greater than the number cast for the incumbent MP in the 2005 General Election. All three major parties at the last General Election pledged to offer a referendum on the Constitution, yet last week our Labour government used its majority to block a Conservative amendment calling for a referendum, arguing that the cosmetic changes which turned the Constitution into the Lisbon Treaty were significant, and justified abandoning the referendum pledge. But independent commentators in side-by-side comparisons have shown that at least 96% of the Constitution is unchanged, while the same powers are passed to Brussels. Former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing, who drafted the original Constitution, has boasted that all his provisions are there in the Treaty but in a different order. In his speech, Helmer argued that by abandoning their manifesto pledge of a referendum, Labour was guilty of "a huge breach of faith with the people", and that their determination to ride rough-shod over public opinion would fatally undermine the democratic legitimacy of the EU. He concluded by demanding a national referendum. Read Roger's speech