A leader in the Telegraph argues that the case for a referendum has gained "devastating traction" from the House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee report on the revised Constitution. It notes, "Michael Connarty, the committee chairman, criticised the secretive drafting process, which ‘could not have been better designed to marginalise the role of national governments’, and pooh-poohed Mr Brown's reliance on the safeguards, or ‘red lines’, secured by Tony Blair. These would 'leak like a sieve', he said, the European Court of Justice eventually ensuring that all the treaty provisions would apply to Britain." It concludes "With Mr Brown looking to regain the initiative, the campaign for a referendum must be hotly pursued. It is supported by more than 100,000 readers of The Daily Telegraph. The arguments against it have been demolished by the competent parliamentary committee. The Government's stance is opposed by more than 100 Labour MPs, the TUC and most of the British people. The Prime Minister says he believes in open government, so he should agree to a referendum."

At Prime Minister's questions yesterday, David Cameron attacked Gordon Brown over his refusal to grant a referendum. He said “We’ve got a Prime Minister who won’t talk straight about the election, won’t own up on inheritance tax and won’t keep his promises on an EU referendum despite a manifesto pledge. Never have the British people been treated with such cynicism."
Comment:
Brown claimed again at his press conference that the European Scrutiny Committee’s finding that the new treaty was “substantially equivalent” to the old Constitution does not apply to the UK. In fact it does. The report says very clearly that: “Taken as a whole, the Reform Treaty produces a general framework which is substantially equivalent to the Constitutional Treaty. Even with the ‘opt-in’ provisions on police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters, and the Protocol on the Charter, we are not convinced that the same conclusion does not apply to the position of the UK.”
Sun BBC Telegraph Telegraph

Miliband: Let MPs vote on referendum
Following the European Scrutiny Committee’s announcement on Tuesday that the revised Constitution is in essence the same as the original version, the Express reports that David Miliband has said that the government needs to do “a better job of explaining” it. The Foreign Secretary also revealed that he expects MPs and Peers to get a vote on whether to have a referendum when it comes to ratifying the treaty in Parliament.
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Majority of Danes want a referendum on revised Constitution
A Gallup poll for Danish daily Berlingske Tidene published today, shows that 54% percent of the Danes want to have a referendum on the revised EU Constitution, while 26% says there is no need for a vote. In case of a referendum, 35% of the Danes would vote “yes”, 23% would vote “no” and 42% remain undecided. The poll comes as the Danish parliament today is holding a big debate on the issue, providing ammunition for the political parties that are pushing for a referendum. Earlier this week, the main opposition party, the Social Democrats, also indicated that it may support putting the text to a public vote.

Danish PM Anders Fogh Rasmussen is quoted in Politiken as saying, “Now we will take time to see what kind of treaty will be negotiated and we will sign up to. Once all countries have signed, we can look closer at whether there should be a referendum”.
A leader in Berlingske argues that Rasmussen is coming under increasing pressure from all directions: from the EU-system which “has no interest in more referendums, to put it mildly”; from those who worry that a Danish “no” could be the end of the country’s EU-membership; from Gordon Brown who is in a similar situation and fears a ‘domino effect’; and from the public who apparently demand a say. The leader concludes that the Government’s strategy is “all about avoiding a referendum”.

Politiken also reports on yesterday’s meeting in London between Gordon Brown and Rasmussen, noting that ”if there’s anything the two leaders agree on, it’s the need to deny their voters a say on the EU treaty”, adding that there is no coincidence that the two met just before next week’s EU summit in Lisbon.
Berlingske Berlingske-leader Politiken Politiken-Brown

Competition law expert: UK should veto treaty to save internal market
The Telegraph reports on a study from Professor Alan Riley, a competition expert at City Law School, which argues that the changes slipped into the revised EU Constitution, removing a commitment to "free and undistorted competition" at the insistence of French President Nicolas Sarkozy are so far-reaching that London should veto the entire text. Mario Monti,former EU Competition Commissioner, told the newspaper: "If this goes through, it's the first step towards disintegration. I am deeply surprised that the British are allowing this to happen."
Telegraph Riley - study

Garton Ash: fear of losing is "the clincher" in arguments against a referendum
Timothy Garton Ash writes in the Guardian, listing six reasons for not holding a referendum. The final reason he gives is his fear that a referendum on the Constitution would result in a 'no vote', which he regards as "the clincher" of the case against a referendum. He concludes that "Unfortunately, here in Britain we now face a choice of evils: either this good thing is pushed through by the established procedures of a parliamentary democracy, but without clear popular consent; or popular consent is sought in a referendum, which will probably be lost."
Guardian

Sun: Brown's performance in Prime Minister's questions "leaden-footed”
A leader in the Sun describes Brown's performance in Prime Minister's questions yesterday as "leaden-footed", arguing that "Where Tony Blair would have deployed a few wry jokes, Mr Brown banged on about the NHS and Bank of England independence”. A leader in the Mirror argues that "A number of blows were well-aimed after the poll fiasco, others were puerile and made Mr Cameron sound silly”. A leader in the Guardian says the Prime Minister was "defeated by David Cameron at a brutal prime minister's question time that seemed to catch the present political intensity”.

A leader in the FT describes Alistair Darling's capital gains tax reforms, announced on Monday, as "like using a howitzer to hunt a rabbit – and then missing". A leader in the Mail welcomes the Government's cuts in inheritance tax, calling the move a "rubicon moment for Labour".
Guardian Guardian leader Sun leader Mirror leader