Blair rules out repeated EU polls

Mr Blair faced questions at his monthly news conference

Tony Blair has pledged that he will not keep holding votes on the draft EU constitution document until he gets a "yes" vote.

The prime minister said he would enter new talks with the other EU members if UK voters rejected a first treaty.

He said he would not keep bringing the original document back "with a few amendments" until he gets a "yes" vote.

But there is confusion, with Downing Street denying Mr Blair had ruled out holding a second referendum.

Nor would the prime minister's official spokesman say that Mr Blair had not ruled out a second referendum.

He said it was difficult to speculate about a 'no' vote.

Provided the treaty embodies the essential British positions, we shall agree to it Blair statement in full At-a-glance: Commons debate

"We would be going into unknown territory," said the spokesman. "You cannot talk with certainty about what the position would be."

His comments came as the Daily Express switched its backing to the Tories as a result of the referendum decision.

The Express backed Labour at the 2001 election but says the party's U-turn on holding the poll is a "final act of betrayal".

Mr Blair said he took the U-turn because the row over whether a referendum should be held threatened to overshadow the real issues.

Speaking at his monthly news conference in Downing Street, Mr Blair conceded that losing the vote would be damaging to him and his government - but it was time to let the people decide.

The prime minister seems to be making up policy as he goes along Liam Fox Conservative chairman

He said he did not intend to lose a referendum, but stressed several times that he would respect a "no" vote.

"A no vote is a no vote, but people have to realise what the consequences of that will be," he told reporters.

If it happened, he said he "did not know what the way forward is".

It would then be necessary "to sit down and talk about it," with the European Council and other member states, he added.

'Humiliation'

At prime minister's question time on Wednesday, Mr Blair appeared to suggest he could hold a second referendum on the European constitution if the public said "no" first time round.

COUNTRIES HOLDING OR LIKELY TO HOLD A REFERENDUM Denmark Republic of Ireland Luxembourg Britain The Netherlands Poland Latvia

He said this would leave the UK in exactly the same position as the Republic of Ireland after it rejected the Nice Treaty in a referendum.

The country then ratified the measure by a repeat of the poll 16 months later.

But the BBC's political editor Andrew Marr said it would now be very difficult - following Thursday's press conference - for Mr Blair to hold more than one referendum on the issue.

And Mr Marr added: "In practical terms, he wouldn't be prime minister then. It would have been such a humiliation to lose the first referendum."

Straw contradiction?

Mr Blair's comments appeared to contradict Foreign Secretary Jack Straw who earlier said the government could seek to put a renegotiated treaty to a second referendum.

STEPS TO A REFERENDUM Constitution expected to be agreed in June Parliamentary approval may be sought before a vote It could also take place alongside referendums for English regional assemblies this autumn A vote could also be held at the time of the general election predicted next spring It is also possible a vote will take place after the next general election

Mr Straw told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "First of all, there may not be a referendum at all. We have not yet got agreement about what goes into this constitutional treaty.

"It is possible, but I am not offering odds, that there could be agreement at an inter-governmental conference at the end of June. But there are quite a lot of issues to resolve."

Conservative chairman Liam Fox told BBC News 24: "It's an absolute shambles. On an issue as important as this country's destiny in Europe the prime minister seems to be making up policy as he goes along."

Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy said confusion was being created when Mr Blair needed to get onto the front foot in expounding Europe's merits.

"The government has got to stop sending out muddled mixed messages," he said.

Former Labour cabinet minister Peter Mandelson said that if there was a "no" vote Britain would in reality be unable to negotiate and would be "put out of the game altogether" in Europe.