Britannia Radio

UKIP DONOR ATTACKS CAMERON OVER EU POLICY

Conservative leader David Cameron

Sunday May 3,2009

By Ted Jeory

MILLIONAIRE Tory donor Stuart Wheeler, who was expelled from the party for giving £100,000 to UKIP, has accused David Cameron of “weasel words” over his policy on Europe.

The retired spread betting tycoon said the Conservative leader and Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague were deceiving voters by trying to appear tough on Europe without having the genuine courage to stand up for Britain.

He claimed the “timid” leadership was “terrified” that a tough stance would split the party and wreck its chances of ousting Gordon Brown from Downing Street.

But instead of worrying about upsetting Europhile Tory “big beasts” Michael Heseltine and Ken Clarke, Mr Wheeler challenged Mr Cameron to be consistent--and expel them if they made waves. 

His attack came at a meeting of the Bruges Group, a Conservative think tank set up in honour of Margret Thatcher’s famous 1988 speech when she said “we have not successfully rolled back the frontiers of the state in Britain, only to see them re-imposed at a European level”.

Tory donor Stuart Wheeler

IG Index founder Mr Wheeler, who rose to public prominence after making the UK’s largest political donation of £5million in 2001, said he was “not at all bitter” about his expulsion from the party in March.

However, while “definitely” hoping the Tories win the next General Election, the 74 year old repeated his intention to vote UKIP in June’s European polls.

He said the cost of Britain’s membership of the EU was an “appalling” £120billion a year, or £8,000 for a family of four—unaffordable with spiralling national debt.

“So the idea that Europe is boring and irrelevant, and that the recession is so important that we should forget about Europe, is just ridiculous,” he said.

“The crucial question for this country is what is to be done about the EU and, since the Tories are likely to be the next government–and indeed I hope they will be—the question becomes what can be done to get the Tories to do the right thing?”

He said the burning question for Europe was the ratification by all member states of the Lisbon Treaty, which proposes to increase the powers of Brussels and Strasbourg.

With Labour denying British voters to air their views in a referendum, eurosceptic hopes are being pinned on Irish citizens torpedoing the treaty for a second time later this year.

Conservative policy was outlined by William Hague last week, when he promised a referendum on the treaty—but only if it had not been ratified by the whole of the EU by the time the Tories came to power.

 He declined to commit to a vote in the more likely scenario that the treaty had become law.

Mr Wheeler said that rendered the Tory pledge empty.

He said: “Let’s face it, the Tories have not the slightest intention of calling a retrospective referendum on Lisbon.

“They simply hope that the weasel words they have used will sound tough, so that they may not lose too many votes on June 4.”

He added: “The Tories want to sound tough on Europe without making any “commitment they think they can avoid.  
The leadership is terrified that a tough stance will split the party.  

But who will be on the europhile side of that split?  

“Just two big beasts: Clarke and Heseltine, and one or two smaller beasts.  

“The party has shown quite rightly that it is not afraid of big donors, by expelling me. It should not be afraid of big beasts either.” 

A Conservative spokesman declined to comment.