PRIVATE POLL SHOWS BRITAIN WANTS VOTE ON EU LISBON TREATY

Claims that nearly nine in ten Britons want a referendum on the EU treaty have been called into question.

Private polling that showed 88 per cent of the electorate want a public vote on the Lisbon treaty have been criticised for sampling too small a number of people.

The poll, conducted by the independent Electoral Reform Services for the I Want A Referendum (IWAR) Campaign, canvassed support for the Lisbon treaty in ten marginal Labour and Liberal Democrat constituencies.