Britannia Radio

EU politics: informing the debate   Wednesday 10 July 2013 Normally, I ignore Conservative Home, have been banned from their comments at times, and having had the EU Ref link summarily removed from their site, so that we were cast into outer darkness. The blogosphere remains the hunting ground for tribal warriors, and I have neither time nor patience for its petty-mindedness. Others, with tougher constitutions, still frequent the site, and I have thus had my attention drawn tothis from Andrea Leadsom (above), who is still pushing her mantra of "meaningful reform" of the EU. And there is also this from George Freeman, also of the Fresh Start Group. Actually, having read the pieces, I wonder why I bother - why anyone bothers. Neither are saying anything new, nor anything interesting – there is nothing at all that informs or inspires. We are not getting argument – simply leaden propaganda, repeated again and again, presumably to reinforce the belief systems of the faithful – for no one else will believe it. My answer was given in June 2004, repeated many times, but particularly in January of this year. These are my "barking cats" pieces, to which – in conceptual terms – I can add very little. Leadsom and her ilk – including her Open Europe minders, say we must "reform". I, and many others, say that "meaningful" reform is not possible and will never happen. And those are the positions – fixed, unchanging. There is no debate, nor any possibility of debate. Disagree, and make the mistake of disagreeing too forcefully or too often, as you get "disappeared". The other side do not want to know, any more than we want to hear the repetitions of their arguments. From that, though, does not emerge a counsel of despair – simply a recognition that head-butting gets you nowhere. It seems to me that a better strategy is to introduce new facts and ideas, which by-pass the blockage. Leadsom might want to bleat about "over-regulation" and "negotiating over tedious directives", at EU level. We simply point out that the regulation is at global level and that is where we need to be. On wind turbines, we can rehearse the arguments for and against until the cows come home and the macerated birds fall from the sky. But sell the idea that, if you buy wind, you get diesel, and pay £1 billion for the privilege, and the argument looks very different. Similarly, take the claims of our influence inside the EU, and tell people we can't even argue for our mackerel quotas and again the terrain looks very different. But that is why the opposition wants to control the flow of information. It does so mainly by ignoring new facts – by not discussing them, not debating them, not even recognising them. When, for instance, have you ever heard about Codex on Conservative Home? Thus, we do not speak to the close-minded. It is a waste of time. The likes of Leadsom will go to her grave still arguing for "meaningful reform" of the EU, long after we have left the EU and it has crashed and burned. We can't deal with that. This is the dialogue of the living dead. COMMENT THREAD Richard North 10/07/2013

Media: right to the point   Wednesday 10 July 2013 Nursing assistants are doing the work, instead of "doctors with no training", reports the Telegraphonline. I would be interested to learn how untrained doctors manage to get into the system. I guess they must be put there by journalists with no training. Still, they have to cut corners if they are to afford the pay-offs. And then there are the NHS payoffs to find. COMMENT THREAD Richard North 10/07/2013

Human rites: a quaint little ritual   Wednesday 10 July 2013 The Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg makes a pronouncement. The Daily Telegraph howls, theDaily Mail goes incandescent with rage, and the rest of the media follows. Mr Cameron makes a ritual declaration about being ready to "rip up Human Rights Act" (Daily Telegraph, 13 May 2006), or he makes a ritual declaration about being ready to "scrap the Human Rights Act"(Telegraph, 22 August 2007), or perhaps he makes a ritual declaration about being ready to "rip up Human Rights Act" (Sun, 3 October 2011). Then, absolutely nothing happens – until the next time. At that point, Mr Cameron makes a ritual declaration about being ready to "rip up Human Rights Act" or, on a good day, he might even promise to "scrap" it. As always, life goes on just as before. It's just another of those quaint little English rituals ... maidens cycling to the pub on Sundays to watch the cricket … timeless and meaningless, like making promises on EU referendums, or writing posts about STOR. COMMENT THREAD Richard North 10/07/2013