The creation of a European superstate has moved a step closer, after the Irish people voted to accept the Lisbon Treaty, paving the way for a powerful new President of Europe.
In a result greeted with relief in Downing Street and dismay in the Tory Party, more than two-thirds of the Irish electorate voted Yes in the country’s second referendum on the treaty.
The ballot, hailed by European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso as ‘a great day for Ireland and for Europe’, followed a frantic campaign by pro-Europeans to reverse Ireland’s overwhelming No vote last year. Now, only Poland and the Czech Republic of the EU’s 27 countries have yet to approve it.
Critics say the treaty, which aims to ‘streamline’ EU institutions to mimic the functions of a nation state, represents the biggest threat to British sovereignty since the invasion of William the Conqueror in 1066.
Tony Blair is strongly tipped to be anointed as the new European President, possibly within weeks, creating a headache for David Cameron as he heads to Manchester for his party conference.
The Conservative leader says a Tory Government would hold a British referendum on the treaty if it had not been fully ratified when the party came to power, but refuses to be drawn on what its position would be if the treaty was already in force.
Here Peter Hitchens looks at why the Irish changed their minds and considers the threat the new European superstate presents to Britain...
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