London - A British multi-millionaire and Conservative Party
donor Wednesday lost a legal bid to force the government to hold a
referendum on the Lisbon Treaty in Britain.
Stuart Wheeler, a 73-year-old betting millionaire, had argued that
the Lisbon Treaty was of essentially the same content as the European
Constitution, rejected by France and the Netherlands in 2005.
Therefore, the British government should honour its 2005 promise
to hold a referendum, he argued.
But the High Court judges rejected Wheeler's claim that there was
a 'legitimate expectation' that a public vote would be held, saying
Wheeler's request lacked 'substantive merit and should be dismissed.'
'We have found nothing in the claimant's case to cast doubt on the
lawfulness of ratifying the Lisbon Treaty without a referendum,' they
said.
The House of Lords, the Upper House of the British Parliament,
passed the bill allowing ratification of the treaty in a final
reading a week ago.
The Treaty was rejected two weeks ago in a referendum in Ireland,
the only EU member state constitutionally obliged to hold a public
vote.
Wheeler said he had 'high hopes' of winning an appeal at the
Appeal Court in London to challenge Wednesday's ruling, even though
the High Court judges refused him permission to appeal, saying they
believed such a move would have 'no prospect of success.'
'Whilst the issues raised are interesting and important, that is
outweighed by the desirability of certainty and the avoidance of
unnecessary delay in this matter,' the judges said.
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