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Returning to the theme of voters’ faith in Britain’s political institutions, Mr Hague urged MPs to stand by their promises to back a referendum.

He poured scorn on claims that the Lisbon treaty was fundamentally different from the constitutional treaty rejected in referendums in France and the Netherlands in 2005, calling such arguments “weasel words to wriggle out of a commitment”. Mr Hague said the two were substantially the same.

Pressed by Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs on whether an incoming Conservative Government would hold a referendum even if the treaty was ratified, Mr Hague would not say, replying: “You are asking me to concede the argument before it is over.”

David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, urged MPs to oppose a referendum, saying that there had, until recently, been a principle supported by all parties that such ballots should be reserved for “fundamental matters”.

“The question . . . is whether the treaty of Lisbon represents a fundamental shift of power between the nation state and the EU. If it does, there should be a referendum; if it does not, there should not,” he said.

Several Conservative MPs challenged him to explain why the Government had called referendums on locally elected mayors and an assembly for the North East, and whether Tony Blair’s pledge to hold a referendum on the old constitution was based on the same principle.

Mr Miliband conceded that Labour’s manifesto commitment for a ballot on Europe’s previous constitution had been different, saying that Mr Blair justified it as necessary to clear the air in the public debate on relations with Europe.

His position was attacked by Kenneth Clarke (C, Rushcliffe), one of only a handful of Conservatives to oppose a referendum, who nevertheless accused him of speaking “nonsense” about the treaty being different from the constitution, saying that it was plainly the same in substance. Mr Clarke asked: “Will he explain why it is better not to have a referendum but have it decided in Parliament? He is getting into trouble because of the deviousness and, at times, ridiculousness of the arguments he is using.”

Ian Davidson, Labour MP for Glasgow South West, a Eurosceptic who tabled an alternative proposal allowing for a twin-question referendum on both the treaty and Britain’s EU membership, said that Mr Blair’s referendum pledge was made for “base electoral reasons” and agreed that Mr Brown feared such a vote would be lost.

Mr Miliband defended the treaty, saying it would increase Britain’s voting weight in the Council of Ministers, replace the rotating presidency of the EU with a European Council president and reduce the number of Commissioners, so they could become a more coherent group.

The treaty did not affect the power of EU members to run their own foreign policy, and it excluded in law the European Court of Justice from having “substantive jurisdiction” over foreign policy, Mr Miliband said.

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