Mandelson: How Euro constitution poll can be won in UK

The British people will back a government which puts its “heart and soul” into support for the European Constitution, Commissioner Peter Mandelson said tonight.

He said there was now an “excellent” opportunity to get the facts across about Europe, whenever the referendum is held, probably sometime next year.

Mr Mandelson, Europe’s Trade Commissioner, said the evidence of the last British referendum on Europe in 1975 showed the constitution battle could be won.

In the autumn before the vote supporters of keeping Britain in the EU were running 20% behind in the polls. But that disadvantage had been overcome by the time of the vote, said Mr Mandelson.

He added: “In that case people only began to change their minds when the government itself – in that case Harold Wilson and Jim Callaghan – put their hearts and souls into the argument, presenting the facts of the case to the British people, together with the pro-European Conservatives and the pro-European Liberal Democrats, and the British people at the end of the campaign responded to their case.

"I am confident that will happen again.”

Mr Mandelson said scepticism was defined in the dictionary as, “open to persuasion”.

He added: “I think that is where the overwhelming majority of the British people stand on the issue of the Constitutional Treaty – they are open to persuasion.

“I think in the end they will be faced with a choice between Britain continuing its present course of engagement in the EU or, if they were to reject the treaty, stepping into the unknown, which is what it would be – a leap into a situation in which we could not tell the consequences.”

Mr Mandelson said he believed the majority, when faced with such a choice, would back continued engagement in Europe – something which had given Britain higher living standards over the last 20 or 30 years.