Friday, 22 May 2009

TaxPayers' Alliance Bulletin - 22nd May 2009
 
New poll shows public are ready for an EU revolt
 
Today, as part of our ongoing EU Campaign, a new ICM/TPA poll on attitudes to the European Union has revealed that voters of all political allegiances, all social classes and all regions are overwhelmingly in support of radical direct action by the British Government against harmful EU policies.  Those polled said that Britain should break EU rules and then refuse to pay any consequent fines. It also reveals a wider dissatisfaction with the European Union and a radical majority against the Euro, the Lisbon Treaty and further integration, and in support of removing powers from the EU. 
 
There are serious connotations for the main political parties, too. Amongst Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat voters a large majority of each parties' supporters feel that none of the main parties adequately represent their views on Britain's future relationship on the EU. Given that the public are so radical in their opposition to so many areas of EU integration and EU policy, this suggests that the political parties are lagging severely behind the public's advanced euroscepticism.
 
The poll found that the public are so annoyed by EU rules that 69% want the British Government to start breaking them and disobeying Brussels, only 28% believe Britain should obey. Furthermore, a strong majority believe Britain should refuse to pay any EU fines imposed for breaking those rules - by 60% to 30%. People are also in favour of Britain unilaterally taking back powers from Brussels if the EU or the other member states refused to give us permission to do so - by 57% to 37%. And 75% of people believe that any decision to give more powers to the EU must always be put to a referendum, while only 23% believe such decisions should be taken by MPs. In a referendum, the Euro would be resoundingly rejected by 75% to 23%.
 
For a detailed analysis of the poll, click here.  

Matthew Elliott, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said:

"Our polling shows that people are more Eurosceptic than ever - they are ready for an EU revolt. Voters are sick of the huge cost of the EU's wasteful policies and corrupt institutions, and want to see the British Government stand up to Brussels for once. Our politicians should start fighting the taxpayers' corner by breaking the EU's absurd rules and refusing to pay any fines they throw at us. Instead of trying to force through a Treaty that no-one wants, the Government should be taking back powers and telling the EU to stop its costly meddling."
 
The Bring Them To Justice campaign gets off to a flying start
 
Thank you to all of you who have pledged your support to our joint campaign with The Daily Mail for private prosecutions of MPs who may have broken the law in their expenses claims. We have been overwhelmed by your kind messages of encouragement, your enthusiasm for our work and your kind contributions to our fighting fund. If you would like to find out more about the campaign, please read the Daily Mail story here. If you would like to make a contribution to our fund, you can donate here.
 
It is essential that MPs are not above the law, and we have every intention of making sure that any MP who has broken the law is brought to justice. Keep an eagle eye on our website and the Daily Mail for updates on how the campaign is progressing.
 
As well as the Bring Them To Justice campaign, the TPA is leading the way in proposing new, radical reforms to ensure that MPs are properly held to account in future. For example, in today's Daily Telegraph there is an opinion piece by Matthew Elliott putting the case for voters to have the right to force by-elections in order to throw out sub-standard MPs.  You can read the article here.
 
Matthew Elliott on Question Time Extra
 
Last night TPA Chief Executive Matthew Elliott was a guest on Question Time Extra, alongside Progressive Vision Director Mark Littlewood. The panel discussed the MPs' expenses scandal and the resignation of House of Commons Speaker Michael Martin, and Matthew put a strong case that MPs still haven't understood why the public are angry over their expenses and that more heads need to roll. To watch the programme again, please click here.
 
Better Government: Lukewarm change will not do
European Union: Hello, Sailor
 

Posted by Britannia Radio at 18:31