William Hague appeared to say on the today programme this morning that the reason we should have a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty was because the Government had promised a referendum on a similar Treaty in the 2005 Manifesto.

As I have said before, I am in favour of the referendum, and I believe we should have one... but to say we should have a referendum irrespective of the contents of the Treaty seems bizarre.

Of course, what this little body swerve allows Hague to do is to side-step the fact that he was part of a Government (albeit as a backbencher) which voted not to give the British people a say on the most fundamental constitutional change in respect of Europe since 1975... the Maastricht Treaty. Hague, like that other arch eurosceptic John Redwood, can hide behind the fact that the Tories didn't even promise to give us a say on Maastricht. Redwood, of course, was even worse because he was actually a Secretary of State in the Government which gave us Maastricht.

I've mentioned this before and it really annoys the likes of the tory boy bloggers who whinge that they were only spotty kids at the time of Maastricht, and mentioning it now is irrelevant. Now that is convenient for dizzy... but it doesn't get all these senior Tories who now demand a referendum off the hook. William Hague was also a spotty youth, but he was a spotty youth who voted for Maastricht and against a referendum. Ditto John Redwood (well, not the bit about youth). David Davis, the Shadow Home Secretary was even a whip in the Major Government who corralled, bullied and badgered Tories through the Maastricht lobbies. The 24 Tory Maastricht rebels were vilified and spat upon by their own colleagues for going through the No lobby.

All the things the Tories now detest about Europe are almost a direct consequence of the Single European Act signed by Thatcher, and Maastricht, agreed by Major. All the social provisions, health and safety, working time directives etc. which feed the daily Mail fantasies about straight bananas stem from the regulatory regime imposed by Maastricht.

The Labour Party and the wider labour movement have little to be proud of about this particular chapter either. When Delors came and wooed the Party and the TUC with promises of a social Europe where stringent labour measures would be doled out like sweeties by the Commission, they went weak at the knees and fell into his embrace. They had been impotent as the Tories had ravaged industry and attacked the trade unions for a decade, and here was this nice continental fellah promising to do the work we were unable to do.

However, as some of us pointed out at the time, if unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats in Brussels can 'grant you' favours with social legislation.... unelected and unaccountable officials in Brussels can take those things away. If the labour movement thought those things were worth fighting for, and were sufficiently popular with the British people, they should have fought for them through our own democratically elected parliament.

Today's little spat in the House of Commons is simply posturing and political shadow boxing. It is like Tyson and Holyfield squaring up for another pay day. Meaningless. The real fight was fought and decided a decade or so ago, and for the Tories who were around then, when they could have made a difference, to be bulling up today's little skirmish as if it was the real deal.... they are not only trying to fool the electorate, they are kidding themselves.