The Prime Minister, Tony Blair admitted Tuesday that it was time to “let people have a final say”. For months he has denied the need for a vote on the European Constitution, but over Easter rumours said that the Prime Minister had changed his mind.

This apparent u-turn, as the Times calls it, has been welcomed by the opposition parties, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, both in favour of a referendum.
The poll is not expected to be held till after the next General Election which is expected in 2005, and some pro-European campaigners believe the talk of a referendum is “a tactical decision to stop; losing votes in the June European elections, rather than a strategy for Britain’s relationship with Europe”, the BBC News writes.
A recent opinion poll, conducted by YouGov and the tabloid newspaper the Sun shows an overwhelming support for a referendum.
Asked: “If Europe’s leaders do agree on a new constitution for the EU, who should decide whether Britain signs it?” 83 per cent answered that the decision should be made by the people in a referendum, only 10 per cent placed the decision-making with the Parliament.
The opinion poll suggests that if a referendum were held any time soon, Blair would lose. Only 16 per cent were in favour of a new constitution. 56 per cent were against, and 28 undecided. 4 per cent wouldn’t vote at all.
“16 per cent is a terribly low base mark from which to start the yes campaign and there must be real doubts as to whether such a disadvantage can be turned around in the foreseeable future”, the pro-European paper the Guardian writes in its leader. The Guardian sees Blair’s move as “clever politics” on one hand and “defensive” on the other.
The conservative, but Europe-sceptic newspaper the Telegraph’s leader kicks off the no-campaign: “We agree that a referendum should be held sooner rather than later. It is, however, essential that Parliament should scrutinise the constitution before it is put to the people. (..) Only a thorough process of parliamentary scrutiny can educate the electorate, so that it knows precisely what it is being asked to decide. Opponents of the constitution have nothing to fear from a long campaign. They should be confident that the more people know about the constitution, the less they will like it.”
Referenda on the EU-treaty will also be held in Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Ireland, Czech Republic, Spain and Portugal.