Lib Dem and Labour Rebellions As Brown Survives Vote on Eu Treaty Referendum

The Liberal Democrats and labor suffered big rebellions last night as the Commons risked the wrath of the electorate by agreeing by 311 votes to 248 to ratify the European Union treaty without holding the much-demanded referendum.

The battle over Europe's future shape will now go to the Lords, but the treaty is expected to pass into law this summer.

Nick Clegg, only in his third month as the Liberal Democrats' leader, saw three members of his shadow cabinet resign so they could back a referendum, in defiance of his three-line whip insisting all his MPs abstain. The three were the environment spokesman, Tim Farron, the Scotland and Northern Ireland spokesman, Alistair Carmichael, and the justice spokesman, David Heath. Carmichael said: "For a front bench spokesman to defy his party's whip is a serious situation and one which I have not taken lightly." Ten other Lib Dem MPs, including some junior spokesmen, voted for a referendum. There were 29 labor rebels who backed the Tory call for a referendum, and 14 who did not vote.

In angry Commons exchanges, Gordon Brown said there was no need for a referendum because the constitutional concept set out in the original European constitution had been abandoned in the Lisbon treaty. He accused the Tory leader, David Cameron, of "appeasing" Euro sceptics and putting jobs at risk. Cameron accused Brown of lacking courage and eroding trust in politics by going back on a manifesto commitment to hold a referendum.

All three big parties promised a referendum on the EU constitution in their last election manifesto.

Mark Francois, the Tories' shadow European minister, ridiculed the Lib Dem abstention strategy, saying: "They are going to hide in the toilets because they have not got the guts to vote."

A separate amendment moved by a labor MP, Ian Davidson, requiring a referendum and empowering the government to extend the question to the whole issue of British membership of the EU, was also rejected, by 311 to 247.

Davidson had hoped his amendment would allow Tory and Lib Dem forces to combine, since the Tories want a referendum on the Lisbon treaty and the Lib Dems want a plebiscite on the whole issue of UK membership of the EU. But Clegg ordered his forces to reject the Davidson amendment as a red herring. Clegg denied he had mishandled his first big test of party management, but admitted: "Yes of course it is uncomfortable for the Liberal Democrats to have to kick up the fuss that we are having to at the moment."

He said: "I am absolutely convinced that what I have been doing is not only for the good of the European cause, but the good of the coherence of the argument about what should and should not be subject to a referendum. It is also good for the unity of our parliamentary party."

He said that "everybody in my shadow cabinet realizes that a three-line whip is not something I have arbitrarily imposed. If the parliamentary party collectively decides there is a three-line whip, they have a particular responsibility to honor that three-line whip. If they don't there are consequences. I don't say that with any relish, certainly not out of any sense that I want to punish people. That's just the way it works if you are trying to manage 64-odd people."

He insisted: "I safely predict that at the next election the party that will be in acute trouble over Europe will be the Conservatives. We know their objections go way beyond the Lisbon treaty and they have a lot of head bangers in their ranks."

Only four Tory MPs failed to back a referendum, in a rare and remarkable display of Conservative unity on Europe.

The government's most difficult moment came when the former Tory cabinet minister Kenneth Clarke accused the foreign secretary, David Miliband, of developing "an entirely novel constitutional concept" that Britain held referendums when there was a fundamental shift in power.

The government has no overall majority in the Lords and could face some difficult votes, but ministers feel confident that unelected cross benchers will not impose a referendum on the elected Commons.

The shadow foreign secretary, William Hague, urged peers to rebel. "The Liberal Democrats' position will once again be pivotal. We will see if they follow their three-line whip in the Commons to abstain."

Gains and losses

Impact of debate on the main parties

Tories Once the most divided party on Europe, the Conservatives have got through the debate without splits coming to the fore. Most of the electorate back the party's call for a referendum. There is a danger the Tories will suffer by making an issue of Europe, and it may be awkward at an election when David Cameron, a Euro sceptic, outlines his plans on the issue.

labor Gordon Brown must have worried that last month would be dominated by calls for a referendum. The rebellion last night could have been worse, and shows loyalty to the new regime remains strong. However, labor will have taken some collateral damage on the grounds that it has failed to stick by a manifesto pledge, which could spill over into the May elections.

Liberal Democrats They offered a referendum on Europe, so have some protection with the voters. But many in the party believe Nick Clegg mishandled the strategy, weakening his authority. The Lib Dems have become the chief casualties in this debate.