Brown rules out union demands for vote on EU

Gordon Brown ruled out a referendum on the revised EU treaty last night as four trade unions which bankroll the Labour Party backed Conservative demands for a vote.

"The proper way to discuss this is through detailed discussion in the House of Commons," Mr Brown told reporters after his first meeting as Prime Minister with the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel. "I believe Parliament will pass this legislation."

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The Government has rejected opposition arguments that the "mini-treaty" approved at the G8 summit in Germany is similar to the draft European constitution rejected in referendums by France and the Netherlands, and should therefore be ratified by referendum.

Jim Murphy, the minister for Europe, made it clear there would be no such vote, even though his own union, the pro-Europe GMB, was among those now demanding it.

The other three unions demanding a referendum said they would campaign for a "no" vote. They tabled resolutions for the TUC to seek wider union backing for a referendum. The unions behind the move are the biggest donors to the Labour Party ­ the GMB general workers' union, and three public-sector workers unions that would oppose the treaty, including the RMT, Unison and the giant Unite union.

The Labour MP Gwyneth Dunwoody said: "I think Gordon will understand there are very grave doubts whether we have the machinery right to defend our interests. It's no use saying that we have exemptions if other people are saying they are going to set up institutions under which there will be a qualified vote."