Irish look set to reject Lisbon Treaty.

Hat tip to Iain Dale.

From the Irish Times:

The Lisbon Treaty is heading towards a shock defeat with the No side now in the lead, according to the findings of the latest Irish Times/TNS mrbi poll.

It will take an unprecedented swing in the last week of the campaign for the Treaty to be carried.

The poll shows the number of people intending to vote No has almost doubled to 35 per cent (up 17 points) since the last poll three weeks ago, while the number of the Yes side has declined to 30 per cent (down 5 points).

The number of undecided voters is still a significant 28 per (down 12 points) cent, while 7 per cent won’t vote.

The massive increase by the No vote since the last poll has mainly come through gains among undecided voters but, even more ominously for the Yes side, it has lost some support to the No camp.

While the final outcome is still in the hands of undecided voters, the clear momentum is now with the No campaign, and it will take a dramatic shift in public attitudes over the next few days for the Yes side to win.

Could this swing to the NO vote be down to the Irish voters getting to know what ratifying the Lisbon Treaty will mean for them? This is the situation Brussels wanted to avoid - the people finding out what is actually involved in signing up to this Treaty. That's why the heads of individual states want to avoid referendums at all cost. If there was to be a referendum, then ratifying the Treaty would have to be debated. During that debate the voters would come to the same conclusion as the Irish look to be coming to: It's not good for individual countries. The EU will become a super state led by a political elite and we will become mere numbers to be toyed with.