Give us EU Emperor Blair

It's the October session of Strasbourg this week, as I'm sure you're all aware from the masses of press coverage on it. Apart from the first ever Question Time in the chamber there was also a debate on what's usually called something along the lines of 'The Future of Europe'. Since the Irish managed to pick the correct answer on the Lisbon Constitutional Treaty the second time they were asked the pressure on President Klaus to sign the Treaty was on.

President Klaus doesn't want to sign it, of course, but he's under such immense pressure. David Cameron could easily lift that burden off his shoulders and be a pillar of democracy in the European Union by promising to hold a referendum regardless of whether it is ratified.

But of course he won't: a ridiculous stand when you consider that the chances of it not being ratified by the time the UK holds a General Election are greatly increased by him taking this position.

A position of defiance from the Tories allows Klaus to continue being strong and stand up for Czech national interests in the knowledge that the EU federalists will have more than one target. And one of the targets will be the future Prime Minister of the UK and the man with the wallet.

A referendum in the UK would produce a NO vote which is exactly why we've been denied the opportunity to have our say since the 1970s. Where would our ragged old politicians go to if we weren't part of the EU? Who would do the work for our MPs and stop them picking out curtain fabrics and soft furnishings for their tax payer funded homes if they had to actually bloody do some?

David Cameron and the Tories have the opportunity to do something brave and something right and an opportunity to show that they value democracy more than the gravy train.

Which is why, I suspect, they'll whimper and flounder and continue with this facile policy of 'we don't fucking know what we're doing on Lisbon'.