So much for media interest

Sometimes I despair about our media. May I bring to you attention this evening's Evening Standard leader column?

Irish referendum is a problem for Britain

So far so uncontroversial, of course it is a problem, though not so much for Britain as for the political elite, so I will let that lie.

The Irish are voting on the Lisbon Treaty today. They are the only people in Europe to be holding a referendum and whatever else the vote does, it points to the bracing effect on politics that comes from an obligation to put specific issues to the people.

No they are not, they are voting tomorrow you ignorant piles of well rotted peat. For pities sake, if it is so important as to be your lead leader at least get that basic fact right. What the hell are you going to write tomorrow when they are actually voting? Astounding.

For Britain, the outcome of the referendum is anything but academic. A vote for the Treaty will put the ball right into the Tories' court.

True, very true.

Probably the last thing David Cameron wants is for the divisive issue of Europe
to resurface before a spring election but if the Irish are not obliging enough to reject the Treaty, the Conservatives will have to confirm whether they will or will not hold a referendum here.

As discussed earlier they are not going to give us a referendum.

So far, shadow foreign secretary William Hague has been opaque on whether a Tory government would do so.

For the reasons I go into.

There would be grounds for them to hold one. The treaty does indeed give the EU the appearance of a state, with a so-called president of Europe and its own foreign minister.

Of course there would, but expediency will out. The Tories canot be trusted on this, and their cheerleaders in the press less so. The Sun today, while dribbling about a Blair Presidency in weeks - (no chance before Christmas at least), now it is a Tory backing paper seems unable to see beyond its own spin, when it talks about Cameron's comments yesterday.

It would certainly give the EU a more cohesive identity; the question is whether we want that. If there were a referendum here - assuming the Czech Republic and Poland ratify the treaty - there is no guarantee that we would vote yes.

No guarantee. Have they ever seen any polling on this question in the UK. The vote would be of gagantuan proportions No. They know that, I know that, anybody this side of Mars with a vague interest in the douings of the EU knows that.

But as I said, if they canot even get the fudamentals of the date of the vote right it just suggests that they don't have the faintest interest.