BRITAIN: The British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, has raised the prospect of a second British referendum on the proposed European constitution should he fail to win a Yes vote at the first attempt.
During heated exchanges in the Commons yesterday, he told Conservative leader Mr Michael Howard that a No vote would leave Britain "in exactly the same position as Ireland after its rejection the first time around of the Nice Treaty".
This provoked Mr Howard to write to Mr Blair claiming "the clear implication" of his Commons statement was "that if the British people were to vote No in a referendum while you were still Prime Minister, you would follow the Irish precedent after the Irish people had voted No to the Nice Treaty; renegotiate in some minor way the constitution and then force the British people to vote again in a second referendum".
Confirming that a Conservative government would accept the outcome of the referendum on the new constitution, Mr Howard said: "If the British people did not vote the way you wanted, you would make them vote again until they did."
He also claimed Mr Blair's attitude to a possible No vote upheld his own contention that the UK could reject the constitution while remaining a full member of the EU, and not in some form of "associate membership" as Mr Blair had suggested when making his referendum announcement on Tuesday.
During Prime Minister's Questions yesterday, Mr Howard pressed Mr Blair to say whether he would veto the constitution or renegotiate it in the event of a No vote.
In a reply which suggested Mr Blair would feel no obligation to resign in that event, he said: "We will be in exactly the same position as Ireland after its rejection the first time around of the Nice Treaty. Which means that if we were in government we would sit down and have to discuss the way forward with the other 24 countries."
Mr Blair also conceded that a No vote would mean the treaty could not be ratified, and that the status quo would remain.
Downing Street last night echoed Mr Blair's insistence that this option would not be available to a Conservative government because of Mr Howard's objection to the principle of a European constitution.
And Mr Blair's official spokesman reiterated the Prime Minister's determination to win the referendum vote, widely expected in autumn 2005, on the assumption of a general election in May or June next year.
The spokesman did not rule out the possibility of a second referendum in the event of an initial No verdict. While stressing the difficulty for any single country in seeking to persuade the other 24, the spokesman said the government's purpose in that event would obviously be to "seek amendments".
When pressed that, should amendments be achieved, "the logic" would be a second appeal to the country, the spokesman told The Irish Times: "The logic takes you where the logic takes you."
Yesterday's Conservative offensive came as Mr Blair suffered a setback when two presumed pro-European allies - former Conservative deputy premier Lord Heseltine, and former Labour leader and European Commissioner Mr Neil Kinnock - criticised his decision to concede a referendum.
Mr Kinnock said the decision was clearly forced by "political circumstances", and warned a No vote could "destabilise" Britain's position in Europe.
Lord Heseltine said Mr Blair had "floundered" in the wake of the Iraq war, and now "capitulated" to the Eurosceptic media.