BRITAIN: Mr Tony Blair's European policy appeared in disarray yesterday as Labour's representative on the European Convention said the British government should not sign the proposed EU constitution as currently drafted.
And the sense of a Prime Minister troubled on all sides was heightened by an opinion poll confirming support for tax cuts at the highest level since Margaret Thatcher came to power in 1979. As Chancellor Gordon Brown put the finishing touches to tomorrow's pre-budget statement, the YouGov poll found Labour established in voters' minds as a party of high taxes, spending and waste, with 80 per cent expecting taxes to continue to rise if Labour is re-elected.
At the same time Education Secretary Mr Charles Clarke was holding the first of a series of "seminars" on university tuition fees in an effort to head-off a revolt by Labour MPs threatening a grievous blow to Mr Blair's authority just days after Lord Hutton's report into the death of Dr David Kelly next month.
Meanwhile the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats renewed their demand for a referendum on the new EU constitution as it was effectively disowned by one of those tasked by Mr Blair to write it.
While not prejudging the outcome of next weekend's intergovernmental conference, Ms Gisela Stuart said: "If the constitution were to be accepted the way we handed it over to the heads of government, I would not find it acceptable. There are certain provisions in there which I think the British government would find unacceptable . . . I think the government has got a very tough agenda on its hands to reach agreement."
The German-born British MP appeared to contradict Mr Blair's insistence that the constitution was "a tidying up" exercise which would not fundamentally change the relationship between Britain and Europe. In an article coinciding with the publication of a Fabian pamphlet on The Making of Europe's Constitution, Ms Stuart said from her experience as a member of the European Convention, "it is clear that the real reason for the constitution - and its main impact - is the political deepening of the Union."
Ms Stuart, a former minister and committed European, described the draft constitution as being "riddled with imperfections" and "moulded by a largely unaccountable political elite" which had been "set on a particular outcome from the very start." And she handed a powerful weapon to Mr Blair's Eurosceptic opponents with the assertion that "Anti-Americanism remains one of the less edifying driving forces in the process of European integration."
Foreign Secretary Mr Jack Straw again insisted the constitution should not cross the British government's "red lines" on tax, defence and foreign affairs, while expressing confidence that agreement could be reached at the EU summit. He told the BBC: "I hope we will deal with those next week. There has been plenty of time to put down the red lines. There has been plenty of time to reflect on how to deal with them. And I don't think a lengthy postponement is going to change the basic questions."
However, Conservative foreign affairs spokesman Mr Michael Ancram insisted: "Gisela Stuart has confirmed all our worst fears and predictions about not only the convention but also the constitution. The EU should withdraw from this dangerous course and should concentrate on bringing Europe closer to its people. If ever there was justification for a referendum, Gisela Stuart has provided it."