Some Lisbon treaty backers were perceived to have their grubby paws in the honeypot

THE release of the Millward Brown IMS investigation into the no vote in the Lisbon treaty referendum demonstrates once again the arrogance of the Government and indeed of the entire yes side.

Great play is made by Foreign Minister Micheál Martin of the supposed finding that large numbers of people voted no because they did not understand the Lisbon treaty. Well, of course a lot of people did not know what was in the treaty because the entire yes strategy was based on exactly that. Their strategy from last November was two-pronged.

On the one hand they hoped to sell the treaty on the back of the purported benefits of previous treaties. The second prong of the strategy was that all the good and the great of Leinster House, IBEC and Maynooth would stand shoulder to shoulder and tell the Irish people to trust them.