Britain's Tony Blair is poised to announce plans for a referendum on a European Union constitution - a major change of heart for the prime minister that may heighten pressure on other nations for a similar vote.
Blair will make a statement on the EU constitution and lead a debate in parliament on Tuesday, his spokesman said.
"It will be a pleasure to debate the reality not the myth," Blair told legislators on Monday, hinting at his decision.
Blair's office would not explicitly confirm plans to offer Britons a vote on the charter, if agreed by EU leaders.
But his spokesman declined to deny plans for a referendum - which British media and political circles now accept as a fait accompli - merely saying he would not pre-empt an announcement.
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw had been due to address parliament on Tuesday. But "on reflection, after we thought about how the statement will be perceived, and its importance...it is natural that he (Blair) should be seen to make the statement tomorrow," the spokesman told reporters.
A number of EU member states plan to hold public votes if an EU constitution is signed and sealed at a heads of government summit in June, as seems increasingly likely. A "No" vote in any one of them would hold up, or possibly even scupper the charter.
President Jacques Chirac has been pressured to hold a vote in France. If Britain, one of the other big EU powers, leads the way, that pressure will increase, diplomats say.
For Blair, a referendum would mark a total volte-face. Until now, he has insisted that a constitution would not fundamentally alter Britain's ties with the EU and so the public's approval would not be sought.
"If this is true, this is an enormous U-turn which we welcome," opposition Conservative foreign affairs spokesman Michael Ancram said. The Conservatives, resurgent under new leader Michael Howard, had been campaigning for a referendum.
Blair's spokesman denied his apparent change of heart meant the prime minister now feared the constitution would challenge British sovereignty. "Any constitution that we agree with will not cross our red lines," he said.
Blair has pledged to keep unilateral British control of areas like taxation, defence and foreign policy.
Talks on the constitution collapsed at an EU summit last December. But changes of government in Spain and Poland - two of the major objectors - have helped revive negotiations.
"We did emerge from Brussels with a new sense of momentum and a...desire to try and achieve a constitution by June," Blair's spokesman said of a summit held last month.
A referendum could yet prove redundant if talks between EU leaders founder again. It is also highly unlikely that Blair will call a vote before a general election expected in May 2005.
Polls show Britons could well vote against a constitution - far less damaging for Blair after he is returned to power than beforehand - although defeat at any point for the pro-European prime minister could cause him to consider his position.
A YouGov poll in the Sun newspaper on Monday showed only 16 percent of Britons would vote 'yes' to a constitution, and 53 percent would vote 'no'. Another 28 percent were undecided.
Blair's spokesman suggested there would be no referendum soon. He said parliament would have to consider the constitution first, a process that would not start until late this year.
"The parliamentary process is the right place to go," he said. "By the time it is translated and turned into legalese the constitution would not emerge from Brussels until October, November.
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