Stuart Wheeler loses EU Lisbon Treaty court case
Stuart Wheeler, the spread-betting multi-millionaire, has lost his legal challenge to Gordon Brown's decision to ratify the Lisbon Treaty.
A High court ruling removed the last obstacle to Britain's ratification of the European Union's treaty despite Labour's manifesto for a public vote.
Mr Brown has been under intense pressure to declare the treaty dead after Irish voters rejected it in a referendum earlier this month.
Mr Wheeler's case had forced the Prime Minister to delay the formal ratification of the treaty until the court's ruling.
At the heart of the case was the question of whether a political party's election manifesto was legally enforceable and whether the public have a "legitimate expectation" to see measures pledged during an election campaign enacted.
Rabinder Singh QC, appearing for Mr Wheeler, 73, said at a recent two-day hearing: "The Government promised a referendum and should keep its promise."
At stake were the fundamental principles "of good administration, fair play and straight dealing with the public," he said.
However, Jonathan Sumption QC, appearing for the Office of the Prime Minister, told the judges: "This case is politics dressed up as law."
The Government argued that the Lisbon treaty is different from the previously-proposed European Constitution on which Labour promised a popular vote.
Mr Wheeler, who made more than £30 million from spread-betting firm IG Index, raised tens of thousands of pounds from donors in addition to his own money to fight the case.
He said he had "high hopes" of winning on appeal.
He said: "I have high hopes of winning on appeal. We shall apply to the Court of Appeal for permission to appeal and we will see what they say."
Eurosceptics said they were disappointed by the ruling.
Ruth Lea, Director of the Global Vision think-tank, said: "Today's ruling by the High Court is extremely dispiriting especially as many European politicians have made it quite clear that the Lisbon Treaty is the Constitutional Treaty in all but name.
"Under these circumstances, the British people are surely entitled to their referendum on the Treaty as the Irish people did. All our polling shows an overwhelming majority in favour of a referendum."
