Alex Orr on an EU referendum

Last week the Labour-dominated House of Commons voted against a referendum on the EU Reform Treaty (Lisbon Treaty). It was a predictable outcome after an intense and angry campaign, but where does that now leave us? Well, it leaves us with a treaty which is opposed by almost 90% of the population (according to a recent poll). A similar proportion also wants to see a public vote on the subject.

In Scotland, the SNP government's position is to reject the treaty due to the entrenching of fisheries as an "exclusive competence" in the document, despite the concerns voiced by Scottish fishing communities and the Scottish government. At next month's SNP spring conference, activists will have the opportunity to vote for a Scotland-only referendum on the EU Reform Treaty, an opportunity to have Scotland's emasculated voice heard in both London and Brussels.

The Labour Party, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and SNP all promised a referendum on the EU Constitution in their manifestos at the general election in 2005. But the constitution was discarded after Dutch and French voters rejected it in referendums later that year, and the Labour government and LibDems subsequently dropped their calls for a public vote. The EU Reform Treaty, signed by Gordon Brown and other national leaders at Lisbon in December, was designed as a replacement, but the contents - including the abolition of dozens of vetoes and the creation of the new posts of EU president and foreign policy chief - are almost exactly the same as the constitution. Only 10 out of 250 proposals in the "new" Treaty are different from the proposals in the original EU Constitution. In other words, 96% of the text is the same as the rejected constitution.

In commenting on the treaty, the author of the constitution, Valery Giscard d'Estaing, said: "All the earlier proposals will be in the new text, but will be hidden and disguised in some way." The German chancellor Angela Merkel stated simply: "The substance of the constitution is preserved. That is a fact."

The call for a Scotland-only referendum supports the outcome of a series of mini-referendums undertaken by the I Want a Referendum campaign last month. This was carried out through postal votes in 10 Labour and LibDem marginal seats, including the East Renfrewshire seat of Europe Minister Jim Murphy MP. It found that some 88% of the public want a referendum on the treaty. The turnout of 36.2% was in line with parliamentary by-elections. In addition to this, last December the Scottish parliament voted overwhelmingly for the UK government to hold a referendum on the EU Reform Treaty by 64 votes to 17.

Ireland is pledged to have a referendum, which it is expected will take place in June.

While Brown continues to show his distrust of the electorate and has broken the promise of a referendum, it is vital a vote is held in Scotland. We are dealing with something that goes wider than Europe - it's an issue of trust in politics, and ensuring the voice of the Scottish people is heard in London and Brussels. Should they vote no, this would be a powerful weapon, and would put enormous pressure on the UK government and Brussels for reforms in key areas such as fisheries.

A referendum would also serve as a catalyst for a long-overdue debate about our membership of the European Union, re-engaging a cynical public in the political process and serving to restore a much needed measure of faith in politics.

Alex Orr is a board member of the European Movement and referendum campaigner