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Until 1 July, the lucky incumbent is the Luxembourg premier, Jean-Claude Juncker. The role then passes to Tony Blair for the remainder of 2005.Waterlooville, HampshireIf you had to vote on the constitution today, would you vote yes or no?Britain would vote no if the referendum were held now, says the most recent poll.Andy Jackson, 26, would vote no to "keep our independence as a country". Sue Roy, 48, a travel agent, agrees: "I don't like the idea of this mega-Europe," she said. "Things would be better if we were not being told how straight our bananas should be." Fear of foreigners plays a part. Tremayne Fitch, 34, manager of a jewellery store, would prefer a vote on withdrawal "I'm dead against being part of the EU," he said. "I definitely don't want to lose the pound and basically I can't stand foreigners." Matt Skyrme, 31, who works at the Red Lion, said he didn't want to be "controlled by some mad German individuals" But, he stressed, he didn't mean this "in a racist way". The one chink of light for the yes campaigners is Georgina Buckingham, a 28-year-old lettings manager, who said, "I just don't know enough about it yet.
I like to be fully informed before I make decisions."Reporting by Steve Bloomfield, Aidan O'Neill, Brooke Shippey and Lizzie ThorntonSO WHAT WILL IT REALLY CHANGE?A new president, new laws, new rights, but the same flag* The EU constitution runs to some 65,000 words, with attached annexes almost doubling its length.* It formalises the flag of the EU ('a circle of 12 golden stars on a blue background'), the anthem (Beethoven's 'Ode to Joy'), and the currency, the euro.* It creates a new president of the European Council, in which EU governments meet. He or she will serve for two and a half years, a term renewable once.* A new voting system for member states, based on population sizes, is proposed, with the size of the European Commission slimmed as of 2014.* A new EU foreign minister aims to raise Europe's profile and answer the question 'When you want to ring Europe, who do you call?'* The constitution merges existing European treaties and gives the EU 'legal personality' - the power to sign treaties and sit on international bodies. The new exit clause allows countries to leave the EU.* A Charter of Fundamental Rights enshrines minimum standards and freedoms.. A war of words has broken out between groups vying to be the official voice of a "no" campaign if the UK follows France in holding a referendum on the EU constitution.
Opponents want a referendum anyway, because they are confident that the British will also vote "no".But a rift has opened up between the No Campaign run by Labour Party activists and others on the left, and the People's No Campaign, which is closer to the right wing of the Conservative Party.Richard North, research director of the People's No Campaign, lambasted the No Campaign as a "group of self-important, gaffe-prone children, barely out of their teens".He said: "We are certainly not going to sit around while those moronic youths make a total bloody Horlicks of it on TV and radio."The No Campaign was launched this month with an advisory board including prominent Labour Eurosceptic MPs such as Kate Hoey and Ian Davidson, as well as Liberal Democrats and the Green Party MEP Caroline Lucas. The group's head of campaigns, Matthew McGregor, 25, a former student activist, was a member of a hard-left organisation that included the Socialist Workers Party."Our coalition includes Labour, Liberal Democrats, Greens and trade unionists," he said. "It needs to be a campaign that appeals across the political spectrum. People are going to be voting on the issues, not parties."The People's No Campaign was launched last week by Neil Herron, one of a group of street traders from Sunderland who became known as the "metric martyrs" when they risked prosecution by refusing to switch from imperial weights and measures.. Tony Blair is to embark on a heavy round of international diplomacy next week, as hopes fade that the French might change their minds at the last minute and accept the planned EU constitution. Mr Blair is expected to make a statement tomorrow, after the result is known, and is likely to put on hold any plan for the UK to sign up to the proposed constitution.A Downing Street spokesman said yesterday: "Under no circumstances will we sign any constitutional treaty without a referendum - and we'll have that referendum if there is a constitution on which to vote." Mr Blair will hold talks with his French and German counterparts before the problem of the EU's future lands on his desk on 1 July, when Britain takes over the six-month presidency of the EU.With metropolitan France expected to give a firm "non" in voting today, President Jacques Chirac was facing accusations of a fatal miscalculation in staging a final appeal on television last week for his country to back the constitution. Since the outcome was expected to be decided by centre-left voters, his appearance, urging a "oui" vote "for the future of France", simply reminded the public of his personal unpopularity and that of his government, according to his critics.Opinion polling is banned in the final 24 hours of campaigning, but four final polls published on Friday night put the anti-constitution camp in the lead.
