The Wardman Wire

It’s almost like the impossible has been achieved.

Gordon Brown has said that “ratification will not take place… until we have the judgement” of the High Court on whether a referendum is required.

Lord Justice Richards was launched an attack on the government’s actions in taking the treaty through both Houses of Parliament - with a lack of opposition from the Lib Dems in one and active connivance in the other - saying:

The court is very surprised that the government apparently proposes to ratify, while the claimant’s challenge to the decision not to hold a referendum on ratification is before the court.

The court expects judgement to be handed down next week. The defendants are invited to stay their hand voluntarily until judgement.

And had Brown not stayed his hand over the formal and final ratification of the treaty/Constitution he would have invited Stuart Wheeler, the man behind the court battle, to seek an injunction to prevent it.

So Brown isn’t postponing formal ratification because he wants to know what the courts will say, but because he doesn’t want the utter humiliation of being told to stop what he’s doing.