Mr Tony Blair yesterday battled to close down a furious debate over whether a first British referendum on the proposed new European constitution would be binding on his government.
However, the Conservatives said his European policy was "in complete chaos" as Downing Street and the Foreign Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, made it clear a first referendum result need not be the last word on the subject.
The Prime Minister triggered the debate himself on Wednesday when he told the House of Commons a No vote would leave Britain "in exactly the same position as Ireland after its rejection the first time around of the Nice Treaty". That prompted the Conservative leader, Mr Michael Howard, to say he would accept the result of the promised referendum either way. And at his monthly press conference yesterday Mr Blair appeared to offer specific assurance that he did not intend "multiple referendums" until he secured a Yes vote.
"A No vote is a No vote," declared Mr Blair: "If the British people vote No in this referendum that is their verdict. That is absolutely clear." However, Mr Blair conceded: "What you cannot do is have a situation where you get a rejection of the Treaty and bring it back with a few amendments and say 'have another go'. "You cannot do that."
At the same time Mr Blair admitted "I don't know what we do in those circumstances ... It's obviously going to be extremely serious if the other 24 countries want to go ahead and we don't." Beyond acknowledging that he would be forced back into discussion with the other members of the European Council, Mr Blair said he did not want to be drawn into speculation about what might happen if he lost the vote - and again insisted he intended to win.
Mr Blair's official spokesman last night expressly refused to rule out the possibility of a further vote - possibly after a renegotiation - saying: "We would be going into unknown territory. You cannot talk with certainty about what the position would be."
That was consistent with Mr Straw's earlier suggestion that the government could put a renegotiated Treaty to the people a second time. Having first allowed that there might not be agreement on the new constitution - and therefore no need for a referendum at all - Mr Straw told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "There is no point having a second referendum if it was going to be lost. But if the sense was that ... what the British public were objecting to was not the principle of this but particular things in it, and there was an opportunity to seek a renegotiation ..."
Shadow foreign secretary Mr Michael Ancram said: "The prime minister has shown that government policy on the issue of a referendum is in complete chaos. One day he says he would consult the people again after a No vote, the next he says he won't.
"He must say once and for all, as we have, whether he will accept the outcome of the referendum, yes or no."