Home What's New Speeches & Articles Newsletter - Sep 2008 Biography Diary Contact Information Photo Album Parliamentary Highlights Publications Links MEPs' Transparency   Conservative Party Latest News from Conservatives.com Conservative Party Website
		Referendum Protest greets EU Charter Wednesday, 12th December 2007 Wednesday saw the formal signing in Strasbourg of the EU's "Charter of Fundamental Rights" by the heads of the European Parliament, the European Council and the Commission. But the formal occasion was overshadowed by a noisy demonstration by MEPs demanding a referendum for their constituents on the Renamed Constitution, due to be signed by Heads of Government in Lisbon on Thursday. Around fifty MEPs, including the East Midlands Conservative Roger Helmer, had come to the Chamber wearing T-shirts bearing the word "REFERENDUM!" They were a cross-party group from many countries. As the three heads of institutions sat down on ceremonial chairs in the centre of the Hemicycle for the signing, these MEPs rose to their feet and raised placards with the Referendum slogan. And in four separate locations around the Chamber, they also raised ten-foot banners with the same word, in full view of the photographers and TV cameras assembled for the ceremony. At the same time they started chanting the one word "Referendum!" The parliament's ushers made sterling but courteous and well-mannered efforts to remove the banners and placards, without great success, and after a while the protest subsided and order was restored. But as the main body of MEPs rose to applaud the signing, the protest and the chanting resumed, redoubling in volume as the European Union's National Anthem was played. After the protest, Helmer was challenged to say why he had sought to deny the speakers the right to be heard. He replied that the 75% of the British people who want a referendum also had a right to be heard, and he had been articulating their demand. He added that it was ironic for EU leaders to boast that the "Charter of Fundamental Rights" was guaranteeing freedom and democracy for European citizens, while member state governments elected on a promise of a referendum had broken their word. "What sort of human rights do we have if we're not even allowed to decide who governs us?" he asked. He argued that the determination of the EU to press ahead with the Constitution in the teeth of public opinion shows a huge contempt for democracy and for the people. In a speech immediately after the protest, a leading Liberal MEP said it had been like "The storming of the Reichstag". In response, Helmer quipped that the Brussels-based Fourth Reich was causing us nearly as much trouble as the Third one. Helmer added: "We MEPs demanding a referendum are in a minority in the parliament, but we represent a majority in many European member-states including the UK. As a British Conservative, I am delighted that our Party policy is to demand a referendum, and I am proud to have raised the demands of East Midlands voters for a say on the treaty on this high-profile occasion".