Blair reversal

last updated 8 January 2015

London

Britons will vote in a referendum on whether to endorse the proposed European constitution, Prime Minister Tony Blair announced this week. “Let the people have the final say,” Blair said. “Let the battle be joined.” The move was a turnaround for Blair, who had long insisted that the new constitution would not change Britain’s status within the E.U. and therefore did not require voter endorsement. Opposition leaders have charged that the E.U. constitution could supersede British law and erode British sovereignty. The diplomats who drafted the constitution accused Blair of passing the buck. “This is an example of him wanting to hand this problem over to the public,” said former Irish prime minister John Bruton, “rather than take responsibility himself.”