The EU Constitution Is One Of The Biggest Political Gambles Mr Brown Could Make

By CHRISTOPHER BOOKER

Something very odd has been going on in Britain this August. Ever morpeople - including, we are told, more than 100 of his own MPs - have been waking up to the realisation that our Prime Minister Gordon Brown is attempting to get away with one of the most shameless and fraudulent gambles in our political history.

It was bad enough that his fellow European leaders should have conspired to smuggle the rejected EU constitution back onto their political agenda simply by giving it a different name: the “Reform Treaty”.

At least most of them have been honest enough to admit that its contents are essentially the same as those of the constitution which was chucked out by the French and Dutch voters in 2005.

But in Mr Brown’s case, he has been guilty of a double deception. He has tried to pretend that the new treaty is completely different from the old constitution - and he has done so because he hopes it will let him off the hook of that manifesto promise on which he and the Labour Government were elected in 2005: to hold a referendum.

Belgian tricolor and European Union flags are seen on at the side entrance of the Berlaymont Commission building in Brussels

Poll after poll in recent weeks has shown overwhelming majorities in favour of a referendum. Most of our newspapers are demanding a referendum. David Cameron and the Tory Party are demanding a referendum.

Even many of his own MPs are now asking that he honours that promise of a referendum on which they were elected - with the support of trade unions that sponsor no fewer than 12 members of his own Cabinet.

Yet Mr Brown is gambling that he can break that promise for one simple reason - because he thinks he can get away with it. (read more here)

As a matter of fact, the Archbishop’s current controversy now threatens his leadership, with senior figures calling for his resignation and even his predecessor lambasting his arguments. Some in the media are even questioning his state of mind, asking what many others must be thinking.

What got the Archbishop in such trouble? He called the establishment of some kind of Islamic Sharia law in Britain inevitable.

For the past two or three decades, Britain has been engaged in a radical experiment in abandoning its own national identity. It has encouraged a huge number of Islamic immigrants to enter the country. This explains why some of the most extreme sects of Islam have taken root on British soil. Just a few weeks ago, another senior cleric warned that some areas of Britain’s cities has become “no go” zones for non-Muslims. Any casual visitor to some British cities will know exactly what he means. (read more here )