Gordon Brown and his supporters argue that the Lisbon Treaty (the official name for the constitution) is either too complex for us to understand or too boring to be of interest – depending on whom they are talking to.

But, as a businessman, I understand only too well that it is likely to cost businesses billions of pounds a year through increased regulation and bureaucracy. And these higher costs will inevitably result in higher prices for consumers.

The British Chamber of Commerce reports that EU regulations introduced since 1998 have already cost UK businesses a whopping £40bn.

EU Industry Commissioner Gunter Verheugen told the Financial Times a year ago that EU legislation costs European businesses £405bn a year –equivalent to the EU losing
the entire output of a medium-sized country like Holland every year.

This bill is certain to soar as a consequence of the dramatic increase in red tape that the Constitutional Treaty will create.

For instance, changes in the EU's voting rules will enable several different proposals that are currently being blocked by the
UK to be pushed through and become law. These include an end to the UK's opt-out from the 48-hour working week and the proposal to give temporary and agency workers the same rights as full-time employees after only six weeks with an employer.

According to the DTI's own assessment, losing the opt-out could cost the UK economy £9bn a year, while the Temporary Agency Workers Directive could cost 250,000 temporary jobs.

The new Treaty also ends the national veto over the vital issue of energy policy and increases the EU's powers over employment, social security, competition, trade and economic policy.

Just imagine what fun the meddlesome bureaucrats in Brussels will have with such enhanced authority.


Take energy policy for instance. If the EU is allowed to pass its proposed directive on increased statutory oil reserve requirements, Britain's energy bill will soar by up to £6bn a year. And it is the hard-pressed consumers who will have to foot the bill.

With regard to trade policy, the Constitution gives the EU the same powers over foreign investment and trade in services that it currently has over trade in goods. This will make bilateral market opening agreements between member states and non-EU members impossible. Because the UK is a global leader in services and inward investment, it is vital for us to be able to negotiate our own interests and not allow our advantages to be used as a bargaining counter by the EU.

But the price we will all have to pay for this treaty is not just economic. The EU will be given significantly increased control over our daily lives. Issues as fundamental as crime, immigration and public services will be decided in Brussels where, it is estimated, four out of five of every new laws already originate.

Furthermore, there is nothing in the Treaty that prevents the courts from using the Charter of Fundamental Rights when interpreting EU laws. The worry is that this will lead to a major expansion of regulatory powers in such areas as health and safety, rights at work, protection against dismissal, rights to consultation, collective bargaining and the right to strike. The enormous uncertainty that this creates is bad for business.

To compete in the modern world, Yorkshire businesses need a flexible economy with light regulation. But the new EU Constitution will take Europe in the wrong direction, towards old-fashioned centralisation and bureaucracy.

The good news, however, is that this nightmare can be avoided, if Parliament fails to ratify the Treaty. So we must take every opportunity to try to convince Gordon Brown that he must honour the Government's 2005 General Election manifesto promise to hold a referendum on the Constitution.

The Government calculates that, although people want a referendum and although they are angry that the Government has not kept its promise, ultimately people don't care enough to make a difference at the next General Election.

I believe that the referendum being held in Pudsey will demolish this cynical assumption. But for this to happen, people in Yorkshire really need to throw their weight behind this campaign and encourage as many people as possible to vote.

Andrew Cope is chief executive of Zenith Vehicle Contracts and a member of the Steering Group of Yorkshire for a Referendum.