Over the course of an hour, on Friday May 8th hundreds of Watford residents signed a petition to the Prime Minister asking that the public be given a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.

Prospective MP, Richard Harrington, and European Parliamentary candidate, Vicky Ford, along with local campaigners gathered 480 signatures for the petition at a stall on Watford High St on Friday morning asking that they be given a choice on whether or not the UK signs up to the Lisbon Treaty.

At the 2005 General Election, all 3 major parties had promised a referendum on an EU Constitution. The Constitution, which amongst other things would have put in place a President of Europe, failed to clear the first hurdle and was thrown out by French and Dutch referendums. It has since returned in the form of the Lisbon Treaty. Whilst retaining the vast majority of the original constitution, the Government chose not to offer a referendum to the British public. The Liberal Democrats have also withdrawn their support for a referendum.

Harrington said , “It’s clear that people want to have their voices heard on the matter. It is quite right that people are given the choice as to whether they transfer even more power to Brussels or not. Unfortunately, neither the Labour Party or the Liberals really want to give the people of Watford a choice in the matter. I hope that this petition sends them the message that they are both dead wrong to ignore us all.”

One signatory, Pam Bell of North Watford, commented “It’s more than just cheeky to do a U-turn on the referendum, it’s down right rude. We’ve given up so much over the years, it’s time we put our foot down”.

To have your name put on the petition, please email richard@richardforwatford.com or fill out the form below:.

Sign the EU petition