With one bound, the Prime Minister is free. The “no” votes in France and the Netherlands have removed the necessity for Britain to hold a referendum on the EU constitution. Yesterday Jack Straw told the House of Commons that the Second Reading of the referendum Bill would be indefinitely postponed. No longer is there an obvious threat to Tony Blair’s plans to serve much of his term.

The Prime Minister, who is too fond of the idea of idealism, would have quite liked the notion of fighting a losing campaign for a “yes” to the constitution. He would not have been mortally wounded within his party, but he would have been on the wrong side of history.

He would also have been out of step with the country, as indicated by a Times/Populus poll published today. Support for a “no” vote, at 50 per cent, hugely eclipses the meagre 18 per cent who would vote “yes” if the Government were to press on with a referendum. Opinion here has become sharply more sceptical since the French and Dutch rejected the constitution. British doubts about the future of the EU have been validated by the concerns of countries at the very heart of the project.

Another finding in our poll will cheer Mr Blair and those who want him to continue in office. On the question of whether he should stand down now, by the end of next year or shortly before the next election, the most favoured option is the last one. Surprisingly, perhaps, Labour voters are the keenest for him to serve a full term. Only 9 per cent of them want him to stand down now, while a full 57 per cent would prefer him to stay on until shortly before the next election.

This scotches the widespread assumption that the Prime Minister is deeply unpopular with his own party’s supporters. It is true that some MPs, activists and trade unionists would love him to go, but their views do not reflect those of ordinary Labour voters. The people who put Mr Blair into power want him to stay there. They have no great yearning for Gordon Brown to take over soon.

While the heat is off, the pressure is still on. The Prime Minister now has more control over his own destiny, but he must use that freedom to direct the destiny of the nation.

The next six months will be crucial to Europe’s — and Britain’s — future. The UK has the presidency of the EU at the most critical juncture since the union’s foundation. French and Dutch voters have confirmed what Britain has been saying for years: that the EU has become detached from popular concerns. Mr Blair now has a singular opportunity to advance the cause of a less integrated but more flexible EU. The hour is all the more propitious for the Prime Minister because both France and Germany — the natural core of the union — are led by men whose political capital is spent. Mr Blair must seize this moment and say for once what he thinks, not what he believes his European partners want to hear.

At home, too, the Prime Minister now has the chance to push through a long-term programme of reform, untempered by the electoral caution that has hobbled his Government. These are times that are rich with promise, as long as Mr Blair is clear about pursuing principles and ignoring the vested interests of the Left. If he is not, then he will be wasting his — and our — time by staying on much longer.