Few politicians are good at taking the high ground and throwing themselves off it.

Of course, the EU is not going to fall apart, but at best it will stagnate for the foreseeable future and we will be dealing with quite a lot of internal chaos.

What we have to do is reinvent the idea of Europe.

I didn't mislead people. I know I didn't lie and I have got to establish that.

If the constitutional treaty is rejected it will be back to square one, just at a time when we want Europe to be a more effective force for good in the world, when we need to buttress ourselves against the pressures and insecurities of globalization.

In my experience of these things, parties which shout about dirty tricks and the like tend to do so because they fear a direct hit in some vulnerable part of their political anatomy.

It's a very good idea that we have a third term Labour government led by Tony Blair for a full term.