THE House of Lords last night cleared the way for Gordon Brown's effort to ratify the EU's Lisbon Treaty without a popular vote when it rejected a Conservative bid to force a referendum.

Graham Dines

THE House of Lords last night cleared the way for Gordon Brown's effort to ratify the EU's Lisbon Treaty without a popular vote when it rejected a Conservative bid to force a referendum.

Liberal Democrats sided with the Government in the House of Lords to defeat the move by 280 votes to 218 - a majority of 62.

Senior Conservatives backing the Government were: Lord (Peter) Bowness, Lord (Tristan) Garel-Jones, former deputy prime minister Lord (Michael) Heseltine, former foreign secretaries Lord (Geoffrey) Howe of Aberavon and Lord (Douglas) Hurd of Westwell, and former European commissioners Lord (Leon) Brittan of Spennithorne, Lord (Chris) Patten of Barnes and Lord (Christopher) Tugendhat