Britse Nee-campagne inzake Europese Grondwet van start (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Right- and left-wing groups in the UK have joined forces for the anti-EU constitution campaign launched on Wednesday (18 May).

The British government has not yet decided on the date of the referendum, but it is generally assumed it will be in the spring of next year.

While the "yes" camp is still preparing its strategy for the campaign, those against the EU treaty decided to launch their rally before the unpredictable French referendum on 29 May.

"Whatever the result, the developments prior to the vote in France have already helped our case, as people could see it is not only the British who oppose the new treaty, as suggested by the government and the yes camp," said Matthew McGregor, Director of the Centre for a Social Europe.

The left-leaning NGO has joined the Vote No group - a group mainly representing business- in an attempt to provide a cross-party base for the opponents of the new EU charter.

"Sixty percent of British business is against this Constitution, and business will play an active role in making the case for a no vote," said Neil O'Brien, Campaign Director of Vote No.

Those supporting the treaty can also be found across the political spectrum.

Unions and business evenly divided

According to Alasdair Murray from the London-based Centre for European Reform, this is usually the case in British debates on EU issues, as there are different impulses for each position.

"Both trade unions and business used to be more pro-EU in the past than nowadays. Unionists used to back Europe as a way to force the previous Conservative governments to adopt more social legislation, while business saw the benefits of economic integration," Mr Murray told the EUobserver.

However, he suggests that both platforms are now "pretty much divided down the middle", as the trade unions do not see the European Commission necessarily as the social issues promoter, and business complains about EU red tape and inefficiency.

More or less information?

Both yes and no camps argue that a long debate before the referendum will help them prove their case.

"There is a commonly accepted myth, that the less people know about the EU constitution, the more likely they are going to vote no. But our internal poll has suggested the opposite, so it is in our favour if the debate is longer and more informative," says Mr McGregor.

On the other hand, a spokesman of the "Yes" campaign argued that "if given accurate information, the British citizens will see how shallow the arguments of the 'No' are - mainly in their exaggeration of the treaty's impact on issues like immigration or criminal matters."

"If the French vote Yes in their referendum, our campaign will get going and the pragmatic arguments will eventually prove our case. If they reject the treaty, the British government will have to sit down and decide what to do next," the spokesman of the Yes camp told the EUobserver.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair - to head the pro-constitution campaign - has suggested that the referendum will be held regardless of the result across the channel.

Yes or No? Or rather, In or Out?

The no camp argues the vote on the new constitution is not about Britain's EU membership.

"Our aim is to prevent more powers to be transferred to Brussels. The officials working there might think that they are clever enough to decide for ordinary people, but we say it should be citizens at local level and those that they elect in control of the decisions," said Mr McGregor.

So they view the rejection of the treaty as a push towards "a reform of Europe", rather than a way for Britain leaving it.

However, their opponents say "the no campaign should be frank about its real position towards the UK membership, as many of its members are against it. So, how can you reform the EU if you don't want to be part of it in the first place?" noted the yes camp spokesman.

A recent ICM poll has suggested there is an almost two-to-one majority against the constitution in Britain.

Opposition to the constitution is dominant among supporters of all key parties, while the majority of citizens do not link the rejection of the constitution with leaving the EU.