MEDIA RELEASE
13 December 2007

Embargo: none

OVER 130 MPs AT RISK FROM EU
TREATY REFERENDUM BACKLASH
- MAJOR NEW CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED

- Anti-referendum MPs with majorities under 5,000 include
101 Labour MPs (Gov. majority: 69) & almost half of Lib Dem
MPs (30)

- 91 of these are in highly marginal seats held by under 3,500 votes

- Anti-referendum MPs to be accused through 2 million personalised leaflets of taking local voters for 'fools', as part of a new local-level campaign funded with a major contribution from game inventor and Rubik's Cube trademark owner Tom Kremer.

_________________________________________

Pressure mounted on Gordon Brown over the EU Constitution treaty today as a new campaign website revealed that over 130 MPs - more than 100 of whom are Labour - risk losing their seats from a public backlash if they don't honour their manifesto promises to support a referendum.

The site - www.ReferendumList.com - has been launched as part of a new national campaign to expose MPs' views on an EU treaty referendum to their local voters and to pressure them to honour their election promises of a public vote.

With 70 Labour MPs in highly marginal seats held by under 3,500 votes, even a small backlash at the next election by the overwhelming majority of people who support a referendum could demolish the government's majority and be fatal for Gordon Brown's prospects of a new term as Prime Minister.

The Liberal Democrats risk decimation of their Parliamentary numbers from any backlash as a result of their own U-turn on a treaty vote, with almost half of their MPs sitting in marginal seats.

The ReferendumList.com will be promoted to local voters through an initial distribution of 2 million pro-referendum leaflets by the Democracy Movement's grass-roots network, starting in the most marginal seats.

This campaign has been made possible due to a major financial contribution from Tom Kremer, a professional game inventor and owner of the trademark to the Rubik's Cube, which he made a global success.

Personalised for each anti-referendum MP, the leaflets will be provocatively headlined 'Don't let [name of sitting MP] take you for a fool'. For those without internet access, the leaflets will also incorporate a tear-off card for local voters to post to their MP.

All MPs have been informed about their entry on the ReferendumList.com and given an opportunity to protest if they feel their views are misrepresented.

With a view to highlighting at the next election where an MP has failed to live up to the trust placed in them by voters, the site will be expanded to include the views on a referendum of rival candidates to sitting MPs.

Democracy Movement director Stuart Coster said:

The ReferendumList.com site also shoots down the ten biggest treaty myths being perpetrated by the government, such as "The concept of a constitution has been abandoned" and "Britain has a unique version of the treaty due to the government's 'red lines'".

The campaign is being conducted by the Democracy Movement, which is the non-party successor to Sir James Goldsmith's Referendum Party.

Today, the DM is Britain's biggest eurosceptic pressure group with a non-party network of over 300,000 registered supporters and more than a hundred local campaign groups active in towns and cities across the country.