Thatcher urges treaty referendum

LONDON, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher says Britain is being duped into supporting the new European Union reform treaty.

“Yet again the British people are being told that the changes in the treaty are not important," Thatcher said Friday. “Well, we’ve heard it all before only to see more and more powers grabbed by Brussels," the headquarters of the EU.

Thatcher, in a newspaper interview, urged Prime Minister Gordon Brown to assuage voter anxiety by holding a referendum on the treaty, which has provoked fierce opposition from the public, The Telegraph reported Saturday.

Thatcher warned the treaty is simply a revised version of the former EU Constitution, which was abandoned after being rejected by France and the Netherlands, the British newspaper said. Brown has said the treaty, to be finalized next month, does not fundamentally change Britain’s relationship with Europe.