Ian Davidson told the BBC he believed he could persuade up to 120 MPs to support a referendum on the new treaty.

He said it was "virtually identical" to the failed EU constitution - on which a referendum had been promised.

But Foreign Secretary David Miliband said that the constitution had been "abandoned" and MPs would see the new treaty was in Britain's best interests.

The Conservatives have been calling for a referendum on the treaty, which they also say is practically the same as the failed EU Constitution - on which Labour had promised a referendum in 2004.

Labour 'disquiet'

UKIP and the GMB and RMT unions have joined calls for a referendum.

Eurosceptic Glasgow South West MP Mr Davidson said disquiet in the Labour party was similar to that in 2004 - when former prime minister Tony Blair bowed to calls for a referendum.

"The treaty and the constitution are essentially the same thing" - Ian Davidson

He told the BBC he was confident he could persuade up to 120 MPs, who had backed a referendum in 2004, that it was still needed.

He said the strength of feeling then had persuaded the government to concede to a referendum and he believed the policy was currently in "transition".

"You have got to remember that last time the government were completely against the referendum, until they were in favour of it - and once they were in favour of it, it was almost impossible to find anyone who was against it," he said.

"The vast majority of Labour MPs have assumed that the treaty and the constitution are different.

"But once we explain to them that they are actually, in fact, virtually identical, they come back to the traditional view that they had before - and that was that our manifesto commitment has got to be honoured, that we have got to have a referendum on this constitution."

Constitution 'abandoned'

He said: "The treaty and the constitution are essentially the same thing."

Mr Davidson added that he believed the caveats and exemptions the government had said it had secured would not stand up against an "attack from the European Court of Justice".

"As Parliament gets to grips with the reform treaty that comes out come December, as they look line by line, they will see first that it's good for Britain" - David Miliband

But the foreign secretary told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that 27 European heads of state had signed a document in June saying the constitutional concept "has been abandoned".

"As Parliament gets to grips with the reform treaty that comes out come December, as they look line by line, they will see first that it's good for Britain," Mr Miliband said.

He added: "It's very different from the constitution in absolute essence and ... the 'red lines' - the key national interest in foreign policy and other areas of the United Kingdom - have been protected."

And Michael Connarty, the Labour chairman of the Commons European scrutiny committee, added: "I don't think the referendum call will be as strong as 120 and I don't think it's sustainable or necessary."

See also:

Growing push for EU treaty vote dogs Brown

Reuters: Aug 28, 2007
By Adrian Croft

LONDON - Prime Minister Gordon Brown faced a growing revolt on Tuesday over his refusal to hold a referendum on a new European Union treaty when a group of Labour MPs urged him to allow the public a vote.

MP Ian Davidson wrote to Brown on behalf of an unspecified number of Labour MPs to say the treaty should be put to a referendum unless the government pushed for and achieved 12 amendments.

Davidson told Reuters he estimated as many as 120 of the 353 Labour MPs, including some ministers who did not wish to come forward publicly, backed calls for a referendum.

"We want the European Union to be a success but do not support 'ever closer union', nor the creation of a European superstate. All the available evidence indicates that our view is shared by a clear majority of Labour voters and by the people of our country," Davidson's letter said.

Last week two trade unions -- traditional Labour Party backers -- urged Brown to hold a referendum on the treaty. Brown believes the treaty can be ratified by parliament.

The demands are an embarrassment to Brown and risk spoiling the honeymoon he has enjoyed with his party and voters since succeeding Tony Blair as prime minister two months ago.

Brown has fuelled speculation he may call an early general election this year or next but he would risk the campaign being dominated by the referendum issue.

He has resisted calls from the Conservatives for a referendum. The Daily Telegraph is also campaigning for a popular vote and says more than 62,000 of its readers have signed up.

TOUGH BATTLE

In the letter to Brown, Davidson said the proposed EU treaty was "virtually identical" to the European Constitution scrapped after French and Dutch voters rejected it in 2005.

The government was therefore bound by a promise it had made to give Britons a vote on the defunct constitution, he said.

The government says the proposed treaty is much less ambitious than the constitution and can be ratified by parliament. Brown's spokesman said on Tuesday that the prime minister's position had not changed.

Davidson sent Brown a list of 12 amendments to the treaty that they said might remove the need for a referendum if London could persuade its EU partners to accept them.

EU leaders have ruled out readdressing a delicate compromise on the treaty agreed at Blair's last summit in Brussels in June. Brown backed Blair's strategy of insisting on "red lines" where Britain would not give up powers to Brussels.

The Labour MPs who wrote to Brown opposed the creation of an EU diplomatic service. They called for the current EU voting system to be kept, saying proposed changes would make it harder for Britain to block EU laws.

See also:

Gwyneth Dunwoody joins Labour EU rebellion

Daily Telegraph: 25/08/2007
By Christopher Hope and Brendan Carlin

The Labour rebellion against Gordon Brown's refusal to hold a referendum on the European Union's new reform treaty gathered pace when Gwyneth Dunwoody, one of the party's senior backbenchers, backed calls for a national vote.

Gwyneth Dunwoody: 'I believe we have to make an exception'

The number of readers who have backed The Daily Telegraph campaign for a referendum has surged through the 60,000 mark. Readers are returning coupons and signing the online petition at a rate of 1,500 a day.

Last night, it emerged that a "hard core" of 40 Labour MPs is preparing to put a 15-point plan to the Prime Minister calling for a referendum or amendments to the treaty.

Mr Brown appeared to set his face against having a referendum when he said this week: "The proper way to discuss this is in the House of Commons and the House of Lords."

But Gwyneth Dunwoody, the Labour MP for Crewe and Nantwich and chairman of the Commons transport committee, said: "Normally, parliamentarians do not like referenda and in my case, I believe Parliament is sovereign. But when Parliament gets it wrong, we may need other means of finding out what the British public think on major changes which would have impacts across many aspects of our national life."

Mrs Dunwoody, who entered Parliament more than 40 years ago, added: "I have strong reservations about the new moves on the part of Europe to consolidate legislation and have great concerns about the proposed changes. So in the rare case of the EU treaty, I believe we have to make an exception and have a referendum."

Ian Davidson, the Labour MP for Glasgow South-West, said: "The only circumstance in which a referendum would not be necessary is if the treaty is substantially altered."

Union barons also said they supported a referendum.

Dave Prentis, the general secretary of Unison, said: "We support the EU, but need to have a debate on its future direction. Trade unions across Europe have fought tooth and nail to protect their own public services against repeated attempts by European leaders and officials to sell us out to foreign business."

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "The 27 member states were very clear in June that the constitutional concept is abandoned. The Reform Treaty will be different in form and content to the old Constitutional Treaty. The existing treaties remain in place as the basis of the union - there will be no free-standing, single consolidated text. There will be no transfer of power away from the UK on issues of fundamental importance to our sovereignty.

"A number of countries, including the UK, have negotiated specific arrangements through protocols and opt-ins. So the impact of the treaty will be different in different countries, depending on the deal."

What they said:

GISELA STUART, Labour MP for Birmingham Edgbaston and former UK parliamentary representative on the Convention on the Future of Europe: "I would have thought that it [the call for a referendum] was a classic New Labour agenda. We are the party that has asked the people far more often than any other party has done before. I can see, having skimmed through this new document, that all the big items are still in there."

GWYNETH DUNWOODY, Labour MP for Crewe and Nantwich and chairman of Commons transport committee: "The proposed EU treaty needs to be debated in great detail. I have strong reservations about the moves on the part of Europe to consolidate legislation and have great concerns about the proposed changes. In the rare case of the treaty, I believe we have to make an exception and have a referendum."

MIKE HANCOCK, Liberal Democrat MP for Portsmouth South and member of the Commons defence committee: "I believe there should be a referendum and I hope my party will honour its commitment in our 2005 manifesto. This is more or less the same package of proposals that were contained in the previous EU constitution rejected by French and Dutch voters. A national vote is needed if only on the proposed defence mechanisms."

MARK FRANCOIS, Conservative MP for Rayleigh and shadow Europe minister: "A string of EU leaders and independent commentators accept this document is effectively the EU constitution under another name. Even German Chancellor Angela Merkel, one of its greatest advocates, said in June that '... the substance of the constitution is preserved'. Eighty per cent of the British people want a referendum."

BOB CROW, general secretary of the RMT union: "Chancellor Merkel says it's essentially the same document, former French president Giscard d'Estaing says it's 'very, very near' the original. So does Giuliano Amato, who should know, because he helped write it. It is the back-door constitution that would transform the EU into a state and transfer power to an unelected EU government. For working people it would be a disaster."

PAUL KENNY, general secretary of the GMB union: "GMB members are sick of being treated as second-class citizens in Europe. If these rights are good enough for French, German and Spanish workers, they should be good enough to apply to UK workers. We are dealing with political cowardice - a failure by the Labour Party to stand up to the multi-millionaire elite at the CBI and a fear of arguing the case in front of the electorate.