At least this has been a wake up call to the British people .Your politicians are your masters and not your servants anymore.
They will continue down that road until we do something about it.

P Holdsworth, Uckfield, Sussex

Democratic Britain died last night in the House of Commons knifed in the back by Brown and Clegg.

Philip, Ipswich,

The principle reason behind Britain's social decay and utterly out of control cost of living is the absence of a California style voter initiative process. That allowed us enact Prop 13 which sharply curtailed property and income tax raises, and in one swoop booted 5 justices off our supreme court. A Trollope and Jeffrey Archer fan it's patently obvious British politics is an insiders game creating a public be damned attitude. The inherent financial conflicts of interest are unconscienable.

MARK KLEIN, M.D., OAKLAND, CA

So much huffing and puffing today.

Brown betrays this, traitors that, end of democracy whatever. As if any of you were going to vote Labour at the next election anyway!

Get over yourselves, the political elite have always, always, taken the decisions they thought were int the interests of a) Themselves b) Their political party c) The country. In that order.

You honestly think that if the Conservatives were in power they wouldn't have signed? Recent history lessons required for Times readers methinks.

Dave Gordon, Edinburgh, UK

I thought we sent our representatives to represent us, the voters, not just play theyre political monopolies?

How do we make our politician understand, that they have a duty to think our welfare; the people before politics !Ken

Cllr Ken Tiwari (Independent), Oxford, United Kingdom

All three party's promised a referendum in their manifesto's. All three party's ave gone back on their word.

polllard, Strassen, Luxembourg

The reason for not having not had a general election last autumn and not having a referendum now is simple, Brown knew that he'd lose.

David Leslie, Perth, Scotland

Gordon Brown has proven, yet again, what an 'unashamed' liar he is. A so-called Christian, he has shown himself to be just another corrupt politician. As for the LibDems, 'sitting on the fence' seems to be part their manifesto, why people vote for them is a mystery - a vote for 'fat cats' without even the strength of character to make a choice. The politicians were put in office by the people to serve the people , now the politicians are saying clearly: 'the people are scum and just don't matter'

Hugh Colgan, Buckfastleigh, England

and UK is meant to be a democratic country.......

in reality, it is a dictatorship and people are meaningless to politicians!

riccardo, brussels,

jon livesey, Sunnyvale, CA/USA

Oh but the answer is obvious, the answer is no, emphatic and total.

To those who feel we MUST be part of europe to remain important.
Why?
The swiss feel no need to be dominated by the USE, yet they have a much better standard of living than us.
Same goes for Norway.

Trident nuclear weapons and the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers give us a much more pointed effect on the world than Europe ever could.

The wonderful way in which the EU has stopped the Genocide in Darfur is proof of that

Dominic, Tameside, UK

I expect nothing better from Brown who sees every issue in terms of his own self interest. I could never trust him or any of the sycophants that surround him.As for Ken Clarke, it is high time he crossed the floor and joined his Labour buddies; he does no good for a Tory party that is struggling to present a unified front. And now that the vote is over, these principled' hard working mps, who think they know better than the rest of us can again focus their efforts on discovering ways to realise the maximum on their claims for expenses and allowances.

paul turfery, Cork, Ireland

Well Done, Mr Brown - YOU just lost The Labour Party the next election! , as for the Lib-Dems : "You are the weakest link - Goodbye" !!

Ann Donnelly, Newton Abbot, England

There will be a referendum, whether this incompetent "government" wants one or not: at the local elections, and at the general election.

Terry Dell, Weybridge, UK

This should come as no surprise to anyone. Gordon Brown has no need to bother with the niceties of democracy, so we can forget about a referendum, at least during the life of this parliament.. Gordon Brown was even wasn't even elected as pm. The parallels with Russia are more than a little alarming.
A suggestion for David Cameron: put the referendum on the conservative manifesto. Even those who would vote yes to the ratification of the treay will be swayed by the fact that he listens to the people.

grindles, London, england

You cannot renege on your promises to the electorate without paying the price.To allege that you meant the Constitution and not the Treaty is a shameful play on words that fools no voter, Labour or otherwise, with a modicum of intelligence. This , and the weakness shown in failing to cream back the money the energy companies have fleeced our poorest citizens for, and the excuses given for that, as well as the shameful practice of lobbying, make the Brown regime reminiscent of a Parliament the Sherriff of Nottingham would have run. British politics stink to the core. It is time to get rid of these liars.
Get out of Europe.

phil glover, grantown on spey, scotland

Gordon Brown, the control freak, manoeuvred to avoid a party leadership election after his coup against Tony Blair; he dithered and dithered, then fled a general election last November; now he’s reneged upon a manifesto commitment for a referendum on the EU constitution. His party has cravenly bowed to his will in all of these.

He has no democratic mandate, he is scared of the electorate, and he leads a thoroughly dishonourable party.

The Lords must, must, must force the government to honour a it's manifesto commitment. It is their duty.

Ian, London, UK

I was so annoyed about this that I have just bought the domain name www.thelabourparty.org which was amazingly available and I have started posting the truth about these traitors and their regime in the hope that Labour voters will stumble across it and learn the truth.

Stewart Cowan, Stranraer, Scotland, U.K.

Traitors the lot of them. No wonder Blair got rid of Treason as an offence otherwise 311 MP's would be for the noose. Britain no more - hello to the unlected EU commission that is accountable to no one and cannot even set a budget or get signed off audited accounts due to widespread corruption.

Connor, Thorpe, Surrey

Would Gordon Brown be willing to take a lie detector test to satisfy the public that skullduggery is not the reason why he insists upon refusing us our right to have a referendum in accordance with the joint parties General Election Manifesto promises.

Sceptical

Burt McCarthy, Romford, UK

How dare Britain lecture other governments on their behaviour and when ever it suits them to use their most beloved phrase "human rights" - whats has just happened in front of our very eyes is an arrogant act which has no regard for the people who this government serves.They are servant of the people have forgotten that.

justin, London,

Despicable, particularly the spineless, unprincipled Lib Dems.

How can we organise ourselves to ensure our voices are heard? Can anyone tell me the name of an organisation I can join whose goal is to secure a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty and/or EU membership?

Alice Adams, London, UK

Gordon Brown you are a liar and I hope you get thrashed at the next election. Nick Clegg has lost what little support he had. Another dark day for the UK.

Roger, Surrey,

If Brown is so confident of his course of action, why doesn't he call a snap election to prove that the people of Britain support his EU policy? That would be an even better kind of referendum.

Dr. Bob, Chicago, USA

Hugh Hutchison, Aberdeen, Scotland seems to think that the answer is very obvious, which raises a question.

If the answer is so obvious, what is Labour afraid of?

If the answer is so obvious, why not let the people deliver it?

If the answer is so obvious, is it really a good idea to leave it forever with the footnote "But we were afraid to let the British vote on it"?

If the answer is so obvious, wouldn't it be a rather good idea to settle the issue by allowing the voters, the taxpayers, the people most affected, to confirm it.

Frankly, I think the answer is by no means obvious, and that that is precisely why Labour is deathly afraid of the result of a referendum.

So afraid, in fact, that being accused of personal dishonesty seems preferable to them to risking the verdict of the People.

This is really the verdict of history on New Labour. That the party that historically claimed to represent the People, is now sunk so low that it is afraid to ask them for their vote.

jon livesey, Sunnyvale, CA/USA

A very sorry day for democracy. More people wanted a referendum over the Lisbon Treaty than voted for Labour at the last General Election. They will reap the whirlwind at the next election.

B.Garvie, Reading, UK

On vital issues like this, the people should have the say. Too much is been given away by the political class.

margie, victoria, australia

The three Conservative rebels - Kenneth Clarke, David Curry, John Gummer - were all elected on a manifesto specifically committing to a referendum. They have now publicly reneged on that commitment - either the whip should be withdrawn from them or they should be deselected. The Conservative party will never be taken seriously on Europe if it permits such behaviour.

George, Wolverhampton,

Why bother the Government doe's not listen to the people, they will go their own merry blind way. Its time we had a way of saying what we on on many decisions made by voting. Why bother with politics if they don't listen to the people, the lack of caring and the we know best of people in power is wrong. A secure ID card would make voting on issues easy for people.

Eric, Hasings, UK

I say, if they say no to a vote on the EU constitution, then we should say no to them when we get a chance to vote! The names of all those in Parliament and how they voted should be available so that we can make our choice when it comes to the next election. I always thought that the MP was elected to represent his constituency and reflect their views?

John Eric Cracknell, Aldershot, Hants

Brown hopefully has hassened the dimise of the New Labour Government tonight by denying the electorate the chance to vote on the EU Constitution, perhaps he knew he would lose. I hope electors will not forget the betrayal of Brown and his team when the next election is called.

A Seymour, Peterborough, England

Now I understand why Gordon Brown admires Vladimir Putin so much.

DickW, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

the country has gone to pot. the UK has a seriously sore throat, and if things keep going the way they are, we will lose our voice alltogethr.

sophie, London,

At last, well done 'Call me Dave' - that's more like what a leader of theOpposition should be doing. As for Clegg - shown to be convictionless opportunist. He should have allowed the Lib Dems a free vote not 'ordered' them to abstain (very liberal, I must say). Agree entirely with Paul Butler's comments. Time this tired looking authoritarian givernment went.

Dr Ian Burgess, Bristol,

In the Labour Manifest of 2005 they said that there would be a referendum on an european constitution. They were elected with that policy.

To suggest now that the new treaty is not a rose by another name is sneaky as it does alter the existing values to those included in the draft constitution. It smatters of a legal opt-out.

I wonder if our human rights have been abused and if Cherie Blair would take it on as a Pro Bono case.

Garth Banks, Falmouth,

Yes to european cooperation and trade.

No to european political union.

No to superstates and the inevitable abuse of power which follows *every* superstate, no matter how much it wishes to 'do good' (see America)

No to lying politicians.

No to MPs being threatened with a loss of career if they consider the wishes of their constituents first.

Yes to democracy.

It's time for ordinary people to start making a bit of a noise here. The politicians should remember that it is *our* power they are abusing.

Andy B, London,

A referendum for what? This has been coming from a long way off. Maybe not in 1957 in Rome, but was certainly evident in 1997 (when Cameron first ran for a seat in the commons, and 5 years after maastricht). Cameron is useing it to create cheap political propiganda. And who can blame him? It seems to be working.

So where does that leave us? We are left with the only fundemental question - should we be an active and powerful part of a strong Europe, of revert back to the awkward island off the coast of the continent?

The answer to this would seem clear and simply to any mind who understands the question (and its implications). It is worrying, however which way a referendum would go. A PERSON may be clever, but PEOPLE are fickle. Being the 'long lost mother' of the worlds greatest economy will not last forever, that is undispuatable. We should be part of the next generation of international politics. Better in than out. How else will we survive?

Hugh Hutchison, Aberdeen, Scotland

It's about time the fools who like being in the EU told the same truth as the rest of us. It wont make a scrap of difference weather we are in or out, it will not effect trade or jobs but we will be able to run our own affairs and put a stop to all the disinfected EU citizens coming here and filling our schools, hospitals, houses and prisons.
We had all the same scare mongering over us not having the Euro and what happened? Precisely nothing.
Truth is we need the EU like a hole in the head.

D Case, Newquay,

Vince please save us from Nick.

Dave, London, South East

Europe is out of control which is why the British would vote against it. Please tell me how we have a democracy when we are simply dictated to by a dubious Government with a dubious agenda? Give us the facts and let us vote.

judy, Liverpool, England

As no one in the three parties knew what the Lisbon EU Treaty would contain when they drew up their manifestos, we can only assume they meant any powers given up to the EU would have to be agreed by the people of the UK through a referendum. There was not small print, no get out clauses we were to decide.

Brian Christley, Abergele, UK

Cameron always bottles out on the most important decision on Europe "ARE WE IN OR OUT" .He is scared stiff ,so he takes the easy option of trying to keep both sides of his party happy.Thats not leadership.

Bill Rees, Truro, Cornwall

Cheer up, there is an off-the-shelf alternative. It's EFTA, European Free Trade Association - they only have the EEA (European Economic Area) part of the EU. EFTA is the one we were with before the EU. So maybe a referendum:
a) Continue with the EU
b) Switch to EFTA
With EFTA, you run: agriculture, fisheries, home affairs, justice and more. Also they only have 300 new regulations a year vs 1,000+ with the EU. With 90 staff vs 20,000+ with the EU, there is less bureaucracy. Also they have their accounts signed off by auditors. Norway and Switzerland are members and doing well. For more info, google: efta, then click on efta, then 'seminars' for powerpoint presentations.

Hugo van Randwyck, London, UK

Brown's refusal to hold a referendum on the EU re-treaty simply highlights his appalling lack of understanding of what our country wants and stands for.

An EU referendum has been totally, wilfully ignored.

Brown's Stalinist intransigence, despite the reports of the Common's Foreign affairs committee and the Labour dominated select committee which seemed to agree with the majority of this country, namely that we do want a referendum, illustrates just how far we have moved towards a totalitarian State, where the will of the majority means nothing to Left-Wing politicians who " know best".

This is mirrored by the Brussels " elite".

The patronising, revealing Left-wing Marxist arguments in Parliament, along the lines that the electorate does "not understand", exemplify the massive gulf that exists now between the "People" and the Labour Party and some career politicians.

The fact that debate is stifled should come as no surprise to anyone - the EU "Parliament" is a mirror of "1984"

Paul Butler, Reading, UK