Wednesday, 20 January 2010

Norman Tebbit

Lord Tebbit of Chingford is one of Britain's most outspoken conservative commentators and politicians. He was a senior cabinet minister in Margaret Thatcher's government and is a former Chairman of the Conservative Party. He has also worked in journalism, publishing, advertising and was a pilot in the RAF and British Overseas Airways.

I used to believe Britain had a lot in common with Europe. How wrong I was

By Norman Tebbit Politics Last updated: January 20th, 2010

168 Comments Comment on this article

James Delingpole’s news that many Conservative candidates in winnable seats (or at least many of those with the courage to reply to a poll) are Conservatives and far from convinced by the Warmist case is encouraging. It may have within it the answer to many bloggers on this site who ask how our great institutions can be rescued from the shysters who have seized control of them.

The European Union lacks a unifying culture (Image: Google Maps)

The European Union lacks a unifying culture (Image: Google Maps)

I should, by the way, have said that the Monarchy and the Armed Services are still sound. In particular, the Queen has done very little wrong. A constitutional Monarch has to be very careful indeed not to use his or her last ditch powers unless they are absolutely sure that such a move would have overwhelming support and that the crisis could not be resolved by in other way. I hope that those who understand the importance and utility of the Monarchy will not undermine Prince Charles even before he comes to the Throne. I do not share his certainty about climate change, but I do share his views on architecture and I support his right to express his feelings as he does. A life in a cage, even a gilded cage, is a pretty frustrating one for an active man with a lively mind. Nor can it be a bundle of joy to face becoming of pensionable age before taking up the job to which you have been committed since birth.

Anyway, who do the republicans think we would get as president? Perhaps Tony and Cherie would run as a joint equal opportunites candidate – or could it be Jonathan Ross, or the winner of Strictly Come Dancing, or Peter Mandelson?

The key to solving our problems lies in the House of Commons. And the electorate holds that key. The Commons does not have to be the poodle of the executive. It still has the power of the purse in its control. It has the power to rewrite a budget presented to it in whole or in part.

For the moment, at least, I will not succumb to the temptation offered me by the commenter called “James (1)”, who would like a conversation about “third world immigration, Islamification and a non-indigenous demographic time bomb” – although I would observe to opponents of Islamification that it is quite difficult to beat a something with a nothing.

Quite rightly a number of contributors to this blog have questioned whether the United Kingdom any longer passes the tests of what is a sovereign state. It is a finely balanced matter. The claim to continue to be sovereign now rests soley upon the right of Paliament to repeal the Treaty of Accession. We have put our sovereignty into the care of the European Union, with a claim that it could be retrieved. The question is for how long a power which is unused can remain potent – and, beyond that, if the EU becomes, as we all expect it to do, the European Republic, what then?

I should have known better, for I was one of those who voted for that Treaty in 1972. I genuinely believed, as most of us did, not just that it would benefit us to be in a European free trade area, but that the commonalty of culture across the member states was far greater than it was and that we could share many institutions.

Looking back, I think that may have come about because as an airline pilot I was a member of an international elite who did share a common culture and I probably had more in common with an Air France or KLM pilot than a Birmingham bus driver. The longer I spent as a Minister around the negotiating table in Brussels, the more I realised I had been wrong. It was not that I dislike my European colleagues – it was just that I realised that the underlying history and culture which had formed their institutions was deeply different and indeed hostile to those which had formed ours.

That was when I remembered the words of Enoch Powell: “Europe can never be a democracy because there is no European Demos.”

All that leaves open what relationship we in the UK should have with the other states of Europe, or the EU. Perhaps that is a question we should be asking of our party leaders. Until we get it right, a lot of what goes on in the House of Commons (and indeed the Lords) will be no more than what the psychologists call a displacement activity.

Oh, by the way, I should confess that my political hero is Alfred the Great.

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COMMENTS

  • Blimey. Yes Lord Tebbit.

    How’s this folks – we have a senior politician actually reading blogs, *engaging* with below the line comments, aware of the nature of our dilemma: despising Labour, but seeing precious little reason to vote for Dave when his policies seem just a fag paper from Gordon’s, and who admits he was wrong!

    Norman, can I vote for you please?

    FrankFisher on Jan 20th, 2010 at 9:19 am

  • Surely the thing we have most in common Europe is our long history of armed conflict, both with and against various countries.

    You’d have thought that might have been seen as some sort of hint.

    Damocles on Jan 20th, 2010 at 9:24 am

  • Here it comes again…

    “A Bill of Rights is what the people are entitled to against every government, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inference”.

    Thomas Jefferson.

    coltek on Jan 20th, 2010 at 9:30 am

  • It is one thing wishing to be fiends and quite another wishing to be married. The EU, as I now exists, seems to owe little to our perception of the EEC and I have never been under the impression any cultural integration was considered by the British public when asked to support or reject our membership ambitions. There was probably good reason for that, as it would have led to an outright rejection.

    Perhaps we might venture one step further than Lord Tebbit and suggest there is no common culture between the people of the member states and their representatives in Brussels. The rejection of the EU Constitution by founding members of the ECSC suggests they have no desire to surrender their culture or national identity, but their opportunity to express their wishes was regarded as nothing more than an inconvenience.

    The Euro makes this cultural integration even more difficult to resist and it’s short-term future will be interesting, to say the least. Will any of those striving to create the EU Republic allow anyone to leave?

    Sheumais on Jan 20th, 2010 at 9:43 am

  • Outspoken in private

    diplomatic in public. The bigger picture, or something else?
    Without seeming to lick boot, how I wish we had you back at the heart of the Tory leadership. Policy might then return back to principled Conservatism, as opposed to the current political tactic of opportunism & expediency.

    Political heros: Cromwell, Churchill, Thatcher, and although I don’t agree with many of his political views [EU aside, being right all along] – the principled Tony Benn.
    .

    Phil Kean on Jan 20th, 2010 at 9:43 am

  • As I recall, this country voted to enter the Common Market not the United States of Europe. I didn’t vote for entry and I would vote for exit if given the chance. The people of Europe seem to want an end to the meddling presence of the bureaucrats but are seemingly powerless to curb this growing monster. Membership of the EU is said to cost this country £40000 a second.
    The French are not to be trusted. not never, not nohow

    dirlada on Jan 20th, 2010 at 9:44 am

  • I dislike the word “warmist”, in particular because it’s usually used in a context that clearly misunderstands what global warming is. It’s a rise in the mean global temperature of fractions of a degree, so it doesn’t show up as hot summers and mild winters: it shows up as changes in established weather patterns, and especially an increased incidence of freak weather. Some places get hotter, some colder; some get wetter, some dryer. The debate is over whether, and if so, to what extent, human activity is responsible, but there are actually many other very good reasons for being a bit more careful about what we pump into the air we breathe. Whether all this is being used by governments as an excuse to needlessly raise taxes is a separate issue; perhaps instead of arguing over whether there is such a thing as a “warmist agenda” we should be looking at whether government proposals make any sort of sense. Example: The German government wants to encourage people to switch to more fuel efficient cars to cut down on emissions, but have they considered the cost to the environment of dumping all these old cars and manufacturing new ones?

    Speaking of Germany, I’m a Brit living in Germany, and can probably claim to know a thing or two about cultural differences. One fundamental point you almost touched on is that different nations are in the EU for different reasons, which is a huge source of problems. I’ve often heard British people complaining that the EU is a massive conspiracy by the Germans to take over Europe having already failed twice. Germans, on the other hand, are pretty much agreed that Germany needs to be in the EU in order to make sure that they don’t start trying to take over Europe. Germany still has a massive guilt complex about the Third Reich, and the way they see it, being part of an international club is the only way to ensure the country doesn’t succumb to what many are gloomily convinced is her natural tendency to despotism.

    Personally, I do appreciate being able to travel from Frankfurt to Amsterdam as easily as from Frankfurt to Berlin, and not to have to worry about work permits. But what I don’t appreciate is paying, via taxes, for a huge, massive bureaucracy. Even my (German) wife, who thinks Britain is just refusing to play ball and is trying to scupper the whole EU deal, sees that point: one of her friends got a fairly high-level job in Brussels, and was being paid a ludicrous salary to sit in an office. She eventually resigned out of sheer boredom: not that she was being given menial tasks, but that she literally had nothing to do. Most others stay on for the money, and amuse themselves forcing countries like the Netherlands to pass laws on safety standards for ski-lifts.

    rewboss on Jan 20th, 2010 at 9:45 am

  • Damocles – We might have lost armed conflict but we have gained capitulation and loss of Sovereignty – not a satisfactory state of affairs by long chalk.

    Norman – I don’t want to make a big deal about it but I think Charles would make a disastrous King – far too opinionated and all the wrong way. It’s interesting how William is already being groomed for the role – apparently the Australians have already said they’d prefer him in the role. It seems to me he is more in keeping with the Queen with regards to how the job should be done.
    It’s interesting the Tory poll on Climate Change – who knows – they look as though they’ll take on the battle to fight this nonsense and hopefully in the process take on the European nonsense as well – one way or another the Tories will have to come up against the issue as to WHO GOVERNS BRITAIN!

    yaosxx on Jan 20th, 2010 at 9:46 am

  • We might have lost armed conflict – in the sense that we’re no longer engaged in it with Europe!

    yaosxx on Jan 20th, 2010 at 9:48 am

  • Splendid blog, and I agree with almost every word (which I didn’t expect to do). I still think you have to make a case for the Conservatives, assuming that you still support them — I don’t see a great hymn of praise for Mr Cameron, but I think I would have noticed if you’d switched your allegiance to UKIP or something.

    Hamish Redux on Jan 20th, 2010 at 9:49 am

  • Morning Norman.

    In basis I think you’re right, but personally I think you take the ‘E’ word a little too seriously.

    There is a direct Corrolary between the genuine meaning and text of Margaret Thatcher’s much misquoted ‘There’s no such thing as society, there are just individual men and women… ‘(or words to the effect) and the EU. Similarly, there is no such thing as ‘Europe’ only individual nations and cultures each of which share some common traits with others, but as a cultural Continent within its artificial borders whether the true ‘Europe’ or the pretend one – the EU – has a universal common ground culture, frankly I doubt very much. I also find that those who are the most vociferous in their pro-EU leanings are frequently (not exclusively, but it is highly noticeable) individuals who have travelled very little within it, and have extremely limited genuine first-hand experience not only of other EU nations, but little experience and first hand knowledge of the nations of the wider world.

    Whether there ought to be an encompassing Administration which permits itself to speak on behalf of the entire peoples of the European Continent is academic unless and until such a body can claim unambiguous support from each and every Nation within that collective. Without such, it has no legitimacy in doing so, and such illegitimacy is further corrupted by the seeking of backdoor routes to quasi-Federalism by National Governments, use of which directly bypasses the endorsements of their respective electorates. As is the case with this EU.

    A free-trade area does not need a ‘European Government’ and all the associated paraphernalia. It does not need a Government Building. And thus, it most certainly should not have two…

    As far as Britain’s relations with other Nations are concerned, whether within the EU, the genuine larger Europe, or the rest of the world, there is nothing an external artificial body can do or bring which augments those relationships. Only attenuate and filter them. However, Politicians, no less British ones, simply cannot abide contented stasis and will meddle with irrelevancies or purposeless projects rather than simply ensure that existing structures continue efficiently and unhindered. We may ask of ‘of our party leaders’ what they believe ought to be that relationship, but you know as well as I Norman, if the question is not to their liking, it will remain unanwered.

    Pogles Woodsman on Jan 20th, 2010 at 9:50 am

  • Well said Norman…

    he only thing you didn’t say was…

    “VOTE UKIP”

    There, I have said it for you!

    ————————————————————–

    BTW: James(1) is a lefty, just like all the others in the BNP. You can go back through your friend Daniel Hannan’s threads, to the time when something called the European Union “Parliamentary” elections were in progress, and you will see what I mean.

Posted by Britannia Radio at 16:27