And we will keep asking you until you give the right answer

I read that:

"European leaders this morning gave Ireland the guarantees on the Lisbon Treaty it has sought, crucially with a pledge to incorporate them in a future EU treaty.

Agreement on the shape of the deal followed an early morning meeting between Taoiseach Brian Cowen and the British prime minister Gordon Brown at which the latter indicated that the British would no longer stand in the way of a reference to a future protocol.

...

With agreement on the guarantees in place the Government can now procede with plans for the referendum expected to be in early October and will next week publish the details of legislation on a referendum commission."

If the EU and Irish government can get the Irish people to vote "Yes" on this second referendum then the Lisbon Treaty can be implemented before any UK general election takes place, assuming Gordon Brown can hold out that long. Democracy? This is EU style democracy...