AT a recent public meeting, I invited people to indicate if they had read the Lisbon Treaty.

The only hand that went up was my own.

This is why I have often spoken out against the calling of a referendum, being all too aware that many would cast a vote, not on the basis of reality but on the distortions and downright lies told about the EU in some Europhobic newspapers day after day.

The EU is a mechanism that allows 27 governments to work together on matters of common interest in a fast-changing world.

The Lisbon Treaty does little more than update standing orders designed for a body with fewer members in a way that I hope will make decision-taking a bit faster and more coherent.

It spells out that the object of our partnership is to promote peace, freedom and justice.

It makes clear that any member country has the right to leave.

I don’t expect every voter to read the treaty; that’s the job of the people they elect.

Every government in Europe wants the treaty and says it will be good for their respective countries.

Every parliament in Europe has voted in favour of its adoption.

The sooner it is in place the sooner we can devote time to more important issues.

CHRIS DAVIES MEP