Tories and Lib Dems divided over the EU

Liberal Democrat peers have stated that they will vote against a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty in the UK, effectively ending all hope of forcing one in the UK before Ireland is forced to vote again in October.

In a grand example of why domestic parties are wholly unsuitable to stand in European Parliamentary elections, the Tories immediately sought to gain political capital:

But Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague said the Lib Dems' position on Europe was "now in total chaos".

"They now have a three-way split between rebel MPs who want a referendum, Lords officially voting against a referendum and a leadership lamely abstaining.

"Nick Clegg's authority over his party now looks very weak indeed."

Allowing himself to get sidetracked from the real issue, Hague has unfortunately opted in favour of political points scoring. Isn't this precisely the kind of issue where party politics is completely inappropriate? Hague isn't criticising their decision on the referendum, he is just attacking Nick Clegg for political gain.  It's just not helpful to the debate.

 However Hague's statement was not only unhelpfully partisan, it was also shockingly hypocritical:

But a number of senior Tories spoke out against their party's policy.

Ex-Chancellor Lord Howe said he did not have "huge affection" for the "complex" treaty but failure to ratify it would be a "serious blow to the credibility and effectiveness of the United Kingdom".

Ex-EU commissioner and former home secretary Lord Brittan said he was "strongly opposed" to a referendum.

So what exactly will potential Tory and Lib Dem supporters be voting for in the coming EU elections given that both parties  are divided from top to bottom on the single most important EU issue at the moment?  

In contrast, Libertas is offering a single platform for reform of the EU. All of our candidates agree that the Lisbon Treaty is effectively the same as the Constitution, that the EU needs root and branch reform, and that we don't want a federal superstate run by unelected bureaucrats. It's a clear and solid message that voters can trust in.