Whats it all about?
Hague, interviewed below, is alright as far as he goes. But he
doesn’t go far enough or commit himself to anything at all! Why
ddid he open his mouth before he had a settled policy ?
Hague calls for an EU ‘protest vote’ ! But so far the Tories have
failed to produce any policy document to show why anyone should vote
for them at all! Quite extraordinary - unbelievable !
I think he is right to call for a protest vote but how does voting
Tofry count as such a thing? With the way the party has rigged the
selection of candidates and their position on the ballot paper we are
likely to find the new Tory MEPs as europhile as the last lot- a
handful of wonderful exceptions like Roger Helmer and Dan Hannan
don’t compensate for the europhile dross.
I would like to to vote Tory but can’t see my way to doing so in
these elections and it would seem that the only thing to do is to
give my vote to the BNP, however unpleasant they may be, because it
is the only vote that anyone would take any notice of!
Today’s EUReferendum blog in writing about immigration controls looks
at the progress the BNP is making in by-elections more at the expense
of the Tories than of Labour. (I won’t post it here but it’s worth
the read -] :Things that matter” - - - http://
eureferendum.blogspot.com/
Separately the blog also says “the Tories seem to be in denial,
twittering about everything and anything except what really matters.”
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx cs
==============================
TELEGRAPH 11.4.09
William Hague interview: Gordon Brown could be forced into European
referendum
Gordon Brown could be forced to call a referendum on the new European
"constitution" if faced with a large protest vote in the forthcoming
European elections, the Conservatives believe.
[It's not Brown's "thing" to admit he was wrong so what's this
interview really about ?-cs]
By Robert Winnett, Deputy Political Editor
In an interview with today's Daily Telegraph, William Hague, the
shadow Foreign Secretary, says that Britain urgently needs to
renegotiate its relationship with Europe. It will be a priority for
the Conservatives if elected.
He is particularly angered at suggestions that Tony Blair is being
lined up to become the first full-time EU president.
Mr Hague and David Cameron are planning to make the failure of the
Government to call a referendum a key campaigning point in the run-up
to June's European elections. The shadow Foreign Secretary today
calls on Britons to use the elections to cast a "protest vote".
However, it represents a risky strategy for the Conservatives which
could open a rift within the shadow Cabinet over European policy in
the run-up to the general election.
Mr Hague says that he expects Ken Clarke, the shadow Business
Secretary who is a passionate supporter of the EU, to vote against
the Lisbon Treaty in any referendum.
He also indicates that the Conservatives are likely to attempt to
scrap the Treaty - possibly by calling a retrospective referendum -
if they are elected.
The Prime Minister has faced intense public criticism after reneging
on a Labour manifesto commitment to call a referendum on a European
constitution. The Daily Telegraph has campaigned for a referendum.
Labour claim that there is no need to ballot voters on the
renegotiated constitution - known as the Lisbon Treaty - although it
is virtually identical to the original agreement.
In the run-up to the last European elections in 2004, Mr Blair was
forced to offer a referendum in the face of widespread public concern.
Mr Hague now believes that the Government could be forced into a
similar climbdown. The Irish are preparing to hold another referendum
on the Treaty in the autumn.
"It's not too late to stop the Lisbon Treaty," Mr Hague said. "I
think it's time to ring the alarm bell, it's time to alert people to
the fact that this denial of democracy is not far away unless we do
something.
And the opportunity to do something is in the European elections,
which are only two months away now."
"It's possible to make Gordon Brown change his mind. If you remember
in 2004, in the run-up to the European elections that is when Tony
Blair did his famous u-turn on the referendum.
"He [Mr Brown] doesn't want to have a referendum, he doesn't like
having elections about anything. But I think it's a Government of
such spectacular u-turns you can't rule anything out."
The shadow Foreign Secretary reveals that other European leaders have
discussed with him the possibility of Mr Blair becoming the first
president of the EU. "Our point about this is that this would be
unacceptable to the majority of people in Britain," he said. "It
would be a double denial of democracy because we would have a former
Prime Minister returning to a position of influence and power over
British affairs without any electoral mandate of any kind.
"If a figure like Tony Blair assumed the presidency of the EU, it
would be Tony Blair who went off to visit the White House claiming to
represent all the people of Europe including Britain once again. Just
when people thought they were free of that, that would be back, And
they wouldn't be able to do anything about it."
The shadow Foreign Secretary, who is also Mr Cameron's deputy,
insists that he is not concerned about campaigning against further
European integration. The issue has previously proved highly damaging
for the Conservatives as splits within the party emerged.
Ken Clarke, before returning to the shadow cabinet, earlier this year
said that calls for a referendum were "absurd". However, Mr Hague
today makes it clear that Mr Clarke will now be expected to block the
Lisbon Treaty.
When asked if Mr Clarke would have to vote "no" in any referendum, Mr
Hague said: "I wouldn't expect any member of the shadow Cabinet to
oppose the party's policy...to reject the treaty. Ken has joined the
shadow Cabinet in full knowledge of our policy on this."
Mr Hague signals that, if the Conservatives are elected, he plans to
spend the first few months in office renegotiating Britain's
relationship with Europe. He is not concerned about being isolated at
a time when Barack Obama is making extensive efforts to improve
relations between America and the EU.
"We are committed to restore national control to social and
employment law," he said. "It is something we feel very strongly
about, it is something that will be reflected in our manifesto but
clearly it is also something that has to be negotiated.
"The EU should be concentrated on adapting to globalisation and
global competitiveness, not building more powerful centralised
institutions in Brussels," he said.
The former Conservative leader refuses to reveal exactly what he
plans to do if the Lisbon Treaty is ratified and he becomes Foreign
Secretary.
However, he makes it clear the Conservatives would consider calling a
referendum retrospectively - which could dominate the party's early
months in office if they are elected.
"We will address that if we come to that point," he said. "We would
face a treaty that lacks democratic legitimacy and we wouldn't let
matters rest there...You can still get a referendum on Lisbon. If
that happens we don't have to worry about what we do if it is ratified."
Mr Hague's call to tackle further European integration will delight
many Conservative activists. The shadow Foreign Secretary is one of
Mr Cameron's closest frontbench colleagues and friends say he is
relishing the prospect of becoming Foreign Secretary.
He is already beginning to "run down" his outside interests which
have proved a source of controversy. If the Conservatives are
elected, it is thought he may only serve for one Parliamentary term
and he will therefore be keen to make rapid progress on the delicate
task of extricating Britain from legally-binding European commitments.
doesn’t go far enough or commit himself to anything at all! Why
ddid he open his mouth before he had a settled policy ?
Hague calls for an EU ‘protest vote’ ! But so far the Tories have
failed to produce any policy document to show why anyone should vote
for them at all! Quite extraordinary - unbelievable !
I think he is right to call for a protest vote but how does voting
Tofry count as such a thing? With the way the party has rigged the
selection of candidates and their position on the ballot paper we are
likely to find the new Tory MEPs as europhile as the last lot- a
handful of wonderful exceptions like Roger Helmer and Dan Hannan
don’t compensate for the europhile dross.
I would like to to vote Tory but can’t see my way to doing so in
these elections and it would seem that the only thing to do is to
give my vote to the BNP, however unpleasant they may be, because it
is the only vote that anyone would take any notice of!
Today’s EUReferendum blog in writing about immigration controls looks
at the progress the BNP is making in by-elections more at the expense
of the Tories than of Labour. (I won’t post it here but it’s worth
the read -] :Things that matter” - - - http://
eureferendum.blogspot.com/
Separately the blog also says “the Tories seem to be in denial,
twittering about everything and anything except what really matters.”
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx cs
==============================
TELEGRAPH 11.4.09
William Hague interview: Gordon Brown could be forced into European
referendum
Gordon Brown could be forced to call a referendum on the new European
"constitution" if faced with a large protest vote in the forthcoming
European elections, the Conservatives believe.
[It's not Brown's "thing" to admit he was wrong so what's this
interview really about ?-cs]
By Robert Winnett, Deputy Political Editor
In an interview with today's Daily Telegraph, William Hague, the
shadow Foreign Secretary, says that Britain urgently needs to
renegotiate its relationship with Europe. It will be a priority for
the Conservatives if elected.
He is particularly angered at suggestions that Tony Blair is being
lined up to become the first full-time EU president.
Mr Hague and David Cameron are planning to make the failure of the
Government to call a referendum a key campaigning point in the run-up
to June's European elections. The shadow Foreign Secretary today
calls on Britons to use the elections to cast a "protest vote".
However, it represents a risky strategy for the Conservatives which
could open a rift within the shadow Cabinet over European policy in
the run-up to the general election.
Mr Hague says that he expects Ken Clarke, the shadow Business
Secretary who is a passionate supporter of the EU, to vote against
the Lisbon Treaty in any referendum.
He also indicates that the Conservatives are likely to attempt to
scrap the Treaty - possibly by calling a retrospective referendum -
if they are elected.
The Prime Minister has faced intense public criticism after reneging
on a Labour manifesto commitment to call a referendum on a European
constitution. The Daily Telegraph has campaigned for a referendum.
Labour claim that there is no need to ballot voters on the
renegotiated constitution - known as the Lisbon Treaty - although it
is virtually identical to the original agreement.
In the run-up to the last European elections in 2004, Mr Blair was
forced to offer a referendum in the face of widespread public concern.
Mr Hague now believes that the Government could be forced into a
similar climbdown. The Irish are preparing to hold another referendum
on the Treaty in the autumn.
"It's not too late to stop the Lisbon Treaty," Mr Hague said. "I
think it's time to ring the alarm bell, it's time to alert people to
the fact that this denial of democracy is not far away unless we do
something.
And the opportunity to do something is in the European elections,
which are only two months away now."
"It's possible to make Gordon Brown change his mind. If you remember
in 2004, in the run-up to the European elections that is when Tony
Blair did his famous u-turn on the referendum.
"He [Mr Brown] doesn't want to have a referendum, he doesn't like
having elections about anything. But I think it's a Government of
such spectacular u-turns you can't rule anything out."
The shadow Foreign Secretary reveals that other European leaders have
discussed with him the possibility of Mr Blair becoming the first
president of the EU. "Our point about this is that this would be
unacceptable to the majority of people in Britain," he said. "It
would be a double denial of democracy because we would have a former
Prime Minister returning to a position of influence and power over
British affairs without any electoral mandate of any kind.
"If a figure like Tony Blair assumed the presidency of the EU, it
would be Tony Blair who went off to visit the White House claiming to
represent all the people of Europe including Britain once again. Just
when people thought they were free of that, that would be back, And
they wouldn't be able to do anything about it."
The shadow Foreign Secretary, who is also Mr Cameron's deputy,
insists that he is not concerned about campaigning against further
European integration. The issue has previously proved highly damaging
for the Conservatives as splits within the party emerged.
Ken Clarke, before returning to the shadow cabinet, earlier this year
said that calls for a referendum were "absurd". However, Mr Hague
today makes it clear that Mr Clarke will now be expected to block the
Lisbon Treaty.
When asked if Mr Clarke would have to vote "no" in any referendum, Mr
Hague said: "I wouldn't expect any member of the shadow Cabinet to
oppose the party's policy...to reject the treaty. Ken has joined the
shadow Cabinet in full knowledge of our policy on this."
Mr Hague signals that, if the Conservatives are elected, he plans to
spend the first few months in office renegotiating Britain's
relationship with Europe. He is not concerned about being isolated at
a time when Barack Obama is making extensive efforts to improve
relations between America and the EU.
"We are committed to restore national control to social and
employment law," he said. "It is something we feel very strongly
about, it is something that will be reflected in our manifesto but
clearly it is also something that has to be negotiated.
"The EU should be concentrated on adapting to globalisation and
global competitiveness, not building more powerful centralised
institutions in Brussels," he said.
The former Conservative leader refuses to reveal exactly what he
plans to do if the Lisbon Treaty is ratified and he becomes Foreign
Secretary.
However, he makes it clear the Conservatives would consider calling a
referendum retrospectively - which could dominate the party's early
months in office if they are elected.
"We will address that if we come to that point," he said. "We would
face a treaty that lacks democratic legitimacy and we wouldn't let
matters rest there...You can still get a referendum on Lisbon. If
that happens we don't have to worry about what we do if it is ratified."
Mr Hague's call to tackle further European integration will delight
many Conservative activists. The shadow Foreign Secretary is one of
Mr Cameron's closest frontbench colleagues and friends say he is
relishing the prospect of becoming Foreign Secretary.
He is already beginning to "run down" his outside interests which
have proved a source of controversy. If the Conservatives are
elected, it is thought he may only serve for one Parliamentary term
and he will therefore be keen to make rapid progress on the delicate
task of extricating Britain from legally-binding European commitments.
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