Andrew Slaughter MP defies local referendum result

Local MP Andrew Slaughter has defied the result of the Hammersmith EU Treaty referendum and voted AGAINST a national referendum on the re-named EU Constitution Treaty.

Despite his election promise to support a referendum on the EU Constitution, and 77% of people having voted in support of a national referendum during the Hammersmith poll, Andrew Slaughter voted against one following a debate in Parliament on Wednesday 5 March.

Andrew Slaughter's full voting record on the 'Lisbon' Treaty can be seen on the ReferendumList website - click here.

He not only voted against a Conservative amendment for a referendum, but also one put down by rebel Labour MPs. Then he voted for the Treaty to be approved regardless.

In doing so, Mr Slaughter has sent the resounding message that not only does he have little interest in representing majority local opinion in Parliament if he thinks he personally knows better, but also that he cannot be trusted to deliver what he promises at election time.

The debate over a referendum on the Treaty now moves to the House of Lords. If the Lords pass their own referendum amendment, MPs may get a second chance to vote on the issue.

If Mr Slaughter doesn't think twice and deliver both his election promise and what a majority of local people clearly want when that opportunity arises, then he will leave local voters little option but to pass judgement on how he has acted at the next general election.

Hammersmith referendum: RESULTS

The I Want a Referendum campaign today announced the results of the EU referendum held in Hammersmith and nine other constituencies across the country.

The referendums have been carried out for IWR by Electoral Reform Services – a leading firm of independent election scrutineers recognised by the United Nations, the British Government, and used by all the three main parties for their internal elections.

The referendums have led to an unprecedented response from voters for an unofficial poll.

Postal ballots were sent to more than 26,000 people in the Hammersmith constituency. 22% of ballot papers distributed were returned.

KEY RESULTS

• Stunningly, 152,520 people voted across just ten parliamentary constituencies. 133,251 voted for a referendum – 88%.
  
  
• 5,685 people voted in Hammersmith, of whom 4,358 are in favour of a referendum – 77%.
  
  
• Even though the poll was unofficial, there was a 36.2% turnout across the country. In Hammersmith 21.8% of voters who were sent ballot papers responded. A higher proportion voted in these unofficial referendums than in real elections in the local areas. The average turn-out for local elections (minus year when general elections were held) since 1996 is 35.4%. The average turnout in referendums on directly elected mayors - including in London - was 30.1%.
  
  
• Voters in Hammersmith resoundingly rejected the EU's Lisbon Treaty. 4,485 people voted against it - 79% of those responding.

Mary Ann Sieghart, local Hammersmith resident, said: “This is a fantastic result for the referendum campaign. It will be very difficult for Andy Slaughter to ignore this very clear message from his constituents. We want him, and this Government, to keep their promise for a referendum on the EU Treaty.”

Greg Hands MP said: “The people of Hammersmith have spoken. They want a Referendum on the EU Treaty. I will be voting next week to give them one. I will also be watching very closely to see if Andrew Slaughter does the same, as he promised to do when he was elected in 2005.”

Stuart Coster of the Democracy Movement said: “Hammersmith voters have taken this opportunity to show that they want to see a national referendum. The Government should take this seriously and hold the national referendum it promised. This is about trust – and democracy.”

Polling expert Anthony Wells from UK Polling Report said: "A turnout in the mid thirties is stunning for a private referendum, higher than you'd expect to find in some actual local elections. Private referendums run the risk of only those sympathetic to the cause taking part in the vote, but with independent opinion polls consistently showing around four-fifths of those who express an opinion support a referendum, these don't seem too out of line."

Derek Scott, Chairman of the national I Want a Referendum campaign, said: "This is a great result. These MPs must now make it clear whether they are prepared to listen to the wishes of their constituents or just ignore them."

Simon Hearn from Electoral Reform Services said: "Electoral Reform Services can confirm that the administration of the ballot went very smoothly. We are satisfied that any individual who received a ballot paper was able to vote in secret and have their vote accurately counted."

The full table of results for all ten referenda are available here (pdf file).

Referendum results to be announced Sunday

Voting in the Hammersmith EU Treaty referendum has now closed and the results are set to be announced by the
I Want a Referendum campaign on Sunday 2nd March.

Everybody on the open electoral register in Hammersmith - some 26,000 voters - were sent postal ballot papers at the beginning of February.

Hammersmith was one of 10 constituencies across the country which were selected to hold referendums in what has been the biggest vote on the EU since 1975.

Voters were asked two questions:

1. Should the United Kingdom hold a national referendum on the EU's Lisbon Treaty: yes or no?

2. Should the United Kingdom adopt the EU's Lisbon Treaty: yes or no?

The announcement comes at the start of the week in which MPs will finally vote on amendments to the Lisbon Treaty Bill calling for a referendum. The votes take place on Wednesday March 5th.

Check back here on Sunday for the results!

Don't forget to return your vote!

Voting closes in the Hammersmith EU referendum at noon on Wednesday 27 February.

Please use your chance to have a say! Post your ballot paper today to be sure of your vote being counted.

Major tube action launches last week of campaigning

Major tube actions and a telephone turnout session will launch the last week of campaigning in the Hammersmith EU Treaty referendum.

Activists from a range of pro-referendum organisations will be distributing leaflets at the main entrances of Hammersmith Broadway station on Monday morning, starting from 7am.

That will be followed on Monday afternoon and early evening by a second telephone 'turnout' session.

The aim will be to ensure voters have received their referendum ballot papers, to remind them to cast their vote, or advise how to get a ballot paper if they haven't already received one.

The session will start at 4pm and go on until 8:30pm in the evening. We need as many people as possible to staff the phones during these hours, as we have a lot of calls to get through.

If you are able to come and join in, please call Stuart (Democracy Movement) on 07966 178806 saying at what time you'll be able to come and how long you will be able to stay for. Even just half an hour would be extremely helpful.

Tuesday morning will see another leaflet distribution session at Hammersmith Broadway tube and also one at Ravenscourt Park underground station - once again both starting at 7am.

On Wednesday, leafleting will take place outside Stamford Brook underground station from 7am.

Please join in with these activities if you can! Let's make this a show of public opinion in support of the promised referendum that Andrew Slaughter and the Government will find impossible to ignore.

Mass telephone session aims to boost referendum turnout

The Hammersmith referendum campaign is holding a mass telephone 'turnout' session from 4:00pm today, going on until 8:30pm in the evening.

The aim is to ensure voters have received their referendum ballot papers, to remind them to cast their vote, or advise how to get a ballot paper if they haven't already received one.

We need as many people as possible to staff the phones during these hours, as we have a lot of calls to get through and the bank of phones that have been made available to us must be in use at all times.

If you are able to come and join in, please send an e-mail to coster@democracymovement.org.uk or call Stuart on 07966 178806 saying at what time you'll be able to come and how long you will be able to stay for.

Even just half an hour would be extremely helpful. Hope to see you there!

Slaughter involves police in effort to block treaty vote

As if the police didn't have enough to do tackling local crime!

Now it seems they have to devote resources to dealing with an attempt by local MP Andrew Slaughter to block our referendum.

Let's not forget; this referendum is on an issue that Andrew Slaughter himself promised at the last general election that voters would be consulted about!

According to Greg Hands MP, writing on another blog, Slaughter has reported the I Want a Referendum (IWR) campaign to the Metropolitan Police for breaching the Political Parties Elections & Referendums Act (PPERA).

Purportedly, the complaint relates to the information that should be printed on referendum literature, which could mean it rests on section 126: "Details to appear on referendum material".

If so, Slaughter probably shouldn't have skipped straight to the part of the Act that he thought suited him, perhaps blinded by his evident fury over the initiative. Or he might have first seen section 101 - "Referendums to which this Part [of the Act] applies".

Paragraph (2) (a) of this section states ... "“referendum” means a referendum or other poll held, in pursuance of any provision made by or under an Act of Parliament ..."

The Hammersmith referendum is not being held as a result of an Act of Parliament, but held independently, funded by the IWR campaign. So it seems quite clear that the initiative falls outside the stipulations of the PPERA.

In any case, there's no question whatsoever over who is running the referendum. The literature is clearly marked with the I Want A Referendum campaign logo / web address, so anyone who wishes to see the cross-party support behind the group can check for themselves.

So why doesn't Andrew Slaughter stop wasting people's time in a desperate attempt to prevent local voters being consulted, and simply honour the promise to support a national referendum that he made at the last general election?

Don't forget to cast your vote in the Hammersmith referendum by 25 February, and send him that message!