David Cameron must save us from this EU Superstate

Today, the head of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso told the European Parliament:

"Last week, most heads of state or government of the member states showed their willingness to move ahead with European integration towards a fiscal stability union. They showed that they want more Europe, not less."

They just don't bloody get it do they?

We are British, we have a proud history of defending our freedom. We don't want to have to ask other nations how to run ours. We don't want some unelected arse telling us how to spend our money. We will never submit to the will of an organisation that does not respect our right to vote.

I've always thought that we should be part of the EU, but not ruled by it. Well I've changed my mind because I don't believe that that arrangement is possible. The EU will not stop until we have given up all of our freedoms.

The only safe place to be with the EU is out of it.

The European Superstate - And so it starts...

The following was left in the comments by a reader:

Call for Proposals - Town Twinning Citizens Meetings

The European Commission has announced the first call for proposals under its Town Twinning Initiative, which is part of the new Active Citizens for Europe Programme (2007 -2013). This call for proposals is under Action 1 - Measure 1.1 Town Twinning citizens meetings. Under this Measure grants of between €2,000 and €20,000 are available to support Town Twinning citizens meetings.

Town twinning citizens' meetings consist in bringing together a wide range of citizens and citizens' groups from towns already twinned to; further develop strong, informal and personal relations between their citizens, to reinforce the participants' commitment to European integration; and to contribute to the development of an active European citizenship.

To be eligible the applicant needs to be the municipality or its twinning association in which the meeting will take place. The deadline for applications is the 1st February 2010.

Link

Nice!

Obama: Gordon, your services are no longer required.

Oh the sweet, sweet irony! Obama is about to custard pie Gordon Brown. It's ironic because Gordon Brown has forced an unwilling nation to sign up to the Lisbon Treaty - only to find himself playing second fiddle to Tony Blair. He he!

From the Mail:

Humiliation for Gordon Brown over US plan for G4 elite
without Britain.

Labour last night faced humiliation with the prospect of Britain missing out on a place in a new elite club of economic superpowers.

Reports in the United States claim President Barack Obama is keen to establish a top table of global economies which would leave Britain on the sidelines.

The proposal will put further pressure on Chancellor Alistair Darling and Prime Minister Gordon Brown as Britain also faces dismissal from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The so-called Group of Four (G4) would comprise the biggest global economies: America, Japan, China and the Eurozone countries.

It would have enormous clout over international economic affairs, an arena in which Britain has for many years punched above its weight.

Ironically, if the G4 were made up entirely of individual countries and not the Eurozone, the UK would gain admittance as its national economy is in fourth place internationally.

Well done Gordon - you tit.

Ireland's Lisbon Treaty Referendum - What a joke!

This is an excellent cartoon from the great Matt. However, I wish this one wasn't so accurate.

Irish Lisbon Treaty Referendum - Tell the EU to poke it.

For God's sake Ireland please say NO! Do you want Tony Blair to be YOUR President?

Could the Czechs save us from the Lisbon Treaty?

The possibility of the Czechs delaying their ratification of the Lisbon Treaty is the best news I've heard for quite some time. If the Czechs can hold out long enough, there is a good chance that we will get the referendum we were promised. The only problem is - can they hold out long enough for us to get rid of Gordon Brown?

There is no doubt that Brown will now try his utmost to set the Election date for after the Czech ratification - the last thing he wants is for the people of this country to have a vote on the Treaty - he knows the NO vote will win.

With a bit of luck the Irish will tell the EU that "NO means NO" and the Treaty will be killed off for good. However, I don't trust the EU to respect the Irish vote unless the YES vote wins. They are hell-bent on their Super-state and will not contemplate failure. I'm not even confident that a UK NO vote will stop them.

Apparently French President Nicolas Sarkozy is furious at the news of the Czech delay - oh dear - how sad - never mind.




Hat tip for the video to Daniel1979 Blog

24 hours of Labour AND Conservative lies.

I've spent most of the last 24 hours feeling both sick (I have some bloody bug that's doing the rounds) and angry.

I've been angry at the amount of lies that politicians have been spewing out on our TV screens. Unfortunately it's not just Labour, my party has also been at it. "What's new?" you may ask - "don't they always lie?". Well what has got me so miffed is the scale of the lies.

The Labour party are willing to put heir pathetic results down to being greedy pigs rather than the truth which is that people are fed up of Gordon Brown, their policies, the failure to give us a referendum, incompetence, poor leadership..... the list goes on. No - it's much better to blame it all on expenses. At first the story was that "the people were angry with politicians for the expenses fiasco". When it became clear that the Tories were holding their share of the vote, the story changed to "we are getting more than our fair share of the blame".

Labour MPs also tried to blame the recession for their poor performance - until it became clear that the leading parties in other European countries were doing well - that line was soon dropped.

Now to the Tories: We did well in the European elections, but the media were able to say that we did not do as well as expected. Why was this? Not one Conservative or UKIP MP/MEP would speak the truth last night. The truth is that the Conservatives lost a massive amount of votes to UKIP. The Conservative MPs did not want to explain why so many Tories voted UKIP and UKIP did not want to admit that their results were being artificially pumped up by unhappy Tories.

It's all down to David Cameron being unable to promise a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty after it gets ratified. I guarantee that had David promised that referendum then the Conservative vote would have shot up and UKIP's would have collapsed.

And that is the inconvenient truth for the Conservative party.

It's the Expenses stupid! - Labour's big fat lie.

We are, by all accounts (including some Labour MPs) going to see some truly disastrous European election results for Labour tonight. I've outlined HERE how they are going to be able to use the UKIP protest vote to wriggle out of blaming themselves and Brown for their poor performance. The line being used (already) is that they are taking more than their fair share of the blame for the expenses scandal.

This is of course a massive deception. The polls have shown that Labour are just as far behind the Conservatives now, as they were before the expenses scandal broke. The truth is that the Conservatives have fared slightly better because of Cameron's swift and decisive action (when compared to Brown's usual dithering). The gap between Labour and the Conservatives in the Local elections last Friday mirrors what the polls have been saying for months.

What could make Labour's result even worse for them in the European elections tonight is their position on Europe - it has bugger all to do with expenses. Labour (Brown) refused to give us the referendum they promised in their manifesto and the people quite rightly are not going to vote for them. The only silver lining for Brown is that UKIP are likely to pull in some of the Tory vote.

We will be told that "it's the expenses stupid" tonight. But Brown and the rest of Labour are the stupid ones if they think the people will fall for such an incredible lie.

UPDATE: @1812: Labour MEP on BBC saying that "it's the expenses stupid". Get ready for this to be repeated all night.

Conservative voters about to save Gordon Brown's neck?

Gordon Brown has hung on to power with what can only be described as pathetic desperation. The flood of people deserting the sinking ship has been incredible to see. The Local election results have been disastrous, totally wiping out Labour across the entire country. And yet Gordon Brown hangs on - shamelessly leading his party to a crushing defeat that could be avoided if he could put his party before himself.

It's quite obvious that those Cabinet ministers that haven't resigned have been bought off by Brown. It's sickening to think that our country is being governed by such shallow men and women. We now have a Chancellor that the Prime Minister doesn't want, but is too weak to remove.

However, there is another chance for the Labour party to get rid of Brown. Sunday's European Election results are likely to be very bad for Brown and Labour. If the results are as bad as expected, then Labour backbenchers may be spurred to send around their email asking MPs to back a leadership election. It could be the only chance for some of those backbench MPs to save their seats.

But there is a problem - Conservative voters could be about to throw Brown a lifeline. It looks likely that many of those who would normally vote Conservative, have in fact voted UKIP to protest against David Cameron's reluctance to promise a Referendum on the Lisbon Treaty after ratification. So while Labour are very likely to get hammered in the European Elections, Brown may be in the position to use the Conservative's poor results as a get out of jail free card. Brown will be able to claim that the expenses fiasco has damaged all the major parties and that the poor result cannot be pinned on him.

Could the Conservatives be about to save Gordon?

Off to Vote! - Go Conservative.

I've not been up long (on nights) and I'm just about ready to go and do what many have fought and died for around the world. I'm going to use my democratic vote. I like voting, there was a long period in my life when couldn't vote in person (in the Navy). Today I will be voting Conservative. My reasons for staying loyal to the party that I'm a member of are explained HERE.

Don't forget to vote.

Euro Elections - Which Party should I vote for?

Being a Conservative party member I shouldn't have to ask myself that question. There should be no doubt in my mind that voting Tory is the right thing to do. But there is doubt.

There's a big problem facing the Tory party in the run up to the Euro Elections, and that problem's name is....... Referendum (dun dun dunnnnnn...). It's a problem that David Cameron can do little about without making life very difficult for himself if he is to lead the next government.

It's like this: If Gordon Brown was to do the entire country a favour and call an early election, then Cameron's first year in office becomes a whole lot easier. He can give the go ahead to his promised referendum before the Lisbon Treaty is ratified, the country will vote NO, and the Treaty dies on it's arse. Everybody is happy. But if Gordon decides to desperately cling on to power like we all expect him to, then Cameron has some very difficult times ahead.

If the Lisbon Treaty is already ratified when Dave strides through the big black door then he is left with two options. The first is to say "I'm sorry, but Gordon has put the country into a position that would be too difficult to remove ourselves from". The second option would be to put the UK at odds with the rest of Europe by backing out of a Treaty that we are already signed up to. Unfortunately for David Cameron, neither of the two options are great (understatement). The first will alienate a vast chunk of the party, and the second will be very damaging to European relations.

Of course if Gordon Brown had not broken yet another manifesto promise then this would be all academic.

So where does that leave me?

UKIP? The problem I have with UKIP is a simple one. Though I hate the EU, I cannot see how we can extricate ourselves from it without causing damage. But not only that, I do believe that there are some benefits to being in the EU (though I can't think of any off hand).

Labour and the LibDems? I've lumped these together because they both want further integration into the EU, and hell will freeze over before I vote for that (or them).

Libertas? Now I do like what Libertas have to say but I just can't see how they are going to achieve it, so they are a no no for now.

So that brings me back to the Conservatives. I can't blame Dave for not promising a referendum after ratification. It would be a bloody political nightmare to pull us out of the EU - because that is what it will mean. Once in place, the rest of Europe will not scrap the Treaty because the Brits don't like it.

So I've made my decision. I'm going to vote Tory. I'm voting Tory in the hope that Gordon steps down (or is pushed) before the Treaty is ratified. If that fails then I'm putting my trust in David Cameron's Tories to fight for UK interests from within the Treaty. They are the only party that are likely to do that (apart from Libertas but I can't see them getting the numbers).

So here's a message for Dave: Tell us the truth i.e. If we have a Tory government before ratification then we will have a referendum. If not, then you will do your utmost to get the best deal for the UK post treaty.

Redwood - To referendum or not to referendum?

John Redwood could be using his normally independent blog as a sounding board for a very important Tory policy today. It's all to do with one of David Cameron's leading problems - the Lisbon Treaty. I've posted on why this is so difficult for David before, so I won't go over it all again.

John Redwood is putting forward an idea which is an attempt to mollify those who are demanding a referendum, whether the Lisbon Treaty is ratified or not. Obviously if it has not been ratified by the time we have a Tory government, then there is no problem. But if it has, then it will be extremely awkward for Cameron. It will be a foreign policy nightmare to remove ourselves from a Treaty we are already signed up to.

So what John Redwood is suggesting is a clarification of what Cameron has said all along. John suggests that if the Treaty has been ratified by the time Cameron is PM, then the government will renegotiate some powers back to the UK from Brussels. This has always been Cameron's position ("I won't let it lie there"), but what is new, is that once the powers to be grabbed back have been outlined, they should be put to a referendum.

John says:

I think it best to have a renegotiation, and then to put the results to the people. It is high time the people could express a view on the value of our relationship with the EU. We might get that on Lisbon, if it remains unratified and there is a change of government. If not, let’s have a referendum on any renegotiation. That will concentrate Brussels minds on the need to give us real power back, if the people are going to judge the outcome. As a minimum we need full control of our social and employment policies, taxation, foreign and defence policy, and of Home affairs.

I agree with what John has to say. It's the only realistic option available to Cameron. I want a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, but I also understand how difficult that will be after ratification. So if John is sounding out the grass roots on behalf of the party, then his suggestion has my approval for a start. It's not exactly what I want, but I think it is the most I can sensibly expect.

Of course, we could avoid any future clash with the EU, if only Gordon Brown was a man who kept manifesto promises.

EU Profiler - Where do you fit in?

Have you tried the EU Profiler? Here's mine:

From what I've seen of the results of other Conservatives, Conservative voters are more euro sceptic than this survey assumes. Take the test HERE.

Hat tip Conhome.

Declan Ganely of Libertas on Hardtalk.

You can watch Declan Ganely of Libertas being interviewed on Hardtalk by clicking HERE. The more I listen to this man, the more I like what he has to say.

HMS Indefensible handed over to Royal Navy.

Received via email.

It's 2038. HMS Indefensible has been handed over to the Royal Navy...

Today in a grand ceremony at Portsmouth dockyard HMS Indefensible was commissioned into the Royal Navy. Described as the most stealthy warship in the world, she is now the only vessel in the Royal Navy and replaces 2 mothballed aircraft carriers, 6 destroyers and 4 submarines. Responding to criticism about the shrinking fleet, the MoD replied "It's not about numbers, it's about quality not quantity. HMS Indefensible represents a revolution in naval procurement, stealthy, light and agile she will provide a highly flexible platform. She is invisible to radar and almost immune to torpedo or missile attack. Her shallow draft makes her ideal for work in the littoral (coastal) areas. She is also highly efficient with virtually zero carbon emissions and zero fuel consumption."

Admiral Sir James Bland added "She is ready to respond instantly to events and can be deployed to trouble spots anywhere in the world. The RAF have promised to fly her to wherever she's needed provided (1)They are not busy (2)The weather is OK (3)There is a large airfield provided by a friendly foreign nation close by".

Constructed by Britain's only ship builder BVATe Systems in Birmingham, taking 8 years to build, and costing just £1.5 Billion she is a triumph of British engineering. Her forward section was built in China in 2 weeks and then shipped to the UK. The forward section was then joined to the stern built in Birmingham and the complex technical systems installed. However the programme was not all plain sailing and has not been without its problems "The original design included an outboard motor but early in the building process the Treasury insisted cost savings had to be made so out went the motor. After some time spent on computer-modelling and research we selected oars" said a BVATe spokesperson.

Although £1.2 Billion over-budget and 3 years late, Secretary of State for Defence, William Bragg says we can all be proud "The Type 48 programme has sustained 10,000 British manufacturing jobs in addition to 30,000 civil servants in the MoD project team. She will represent the leading edge of British manufacturing wherever she goes and is worth every penny" Bragg is also says he is hoping to see export orders soon although as yet there has been little interest.

Some observers have commented that her lack of any armament could be a problem but the MoD answered robustly "The Foreign Office advised us that carrying weapons can be seen as provocative and that actually firing a weapon at someone would definitely infringe their human rights. We considered this advice at an early stage in the design process and together with the fabulous cost-savings, the case for having no armament was overwhelming".

Her commanding officer, Commander Rupert Tubworthy-Pollock said "To be selected from the 1,200 officers still serving in the RN for the only seagoing command available is a great privilege. Bringing her out of build and into commission has been a huge challenge but I'm confident she will prove to be a great asset".

With a crew of just 2, she is a fine example of lean-manning, reducing running costs and lessening the RN's recruitment headaches. Her crew, AB "soapy" Watson said "On my last ship I had to share the mess with 40 other men but on the new Type 48 sharing is far a less of a problem. As I'm now the only rating in the Royal Navy I have a lot of responsibility".

HMS Indefensible is expected to complete sea trials shortly, go to Plymouth for Operational Sea Training, have a short refit in Rosyth and then and be deployed as part of the new Euro-Navy task force.

Polish jobs for polish workers - Oh the irony.

According to Karolina Slowikowska, reporting for Reuters, Poland's trade unions are calling restrictions on some foreign workers. It's hard to blame them as many Poles working here in the UK and Ireland will be returning home as our economy continues to collapse. But it is a little ironic that a country that is such an exporter of workers, should now be thinking of stopping imports.

Jan Guz, head of the OPPZ union said:

'The Polish government should consider limiting the inflow of foreigners because there cannot be wage and employment dumping. 'We are not talking about Germans or other European Union citizens ... We are talking of Ukrainians, Belarussians, Chinese ... Employers tend to pick them because they work for peanuts,'

Hmmm....

Libertas press conference - with Declan Ganley (Paris).

Now I'm a bit stuck here. I like what Libertas are saying and I like their objectives. However, can they gain the support needed to give them a chance? It's the old catch twenty two - if everyone who agreed with Libertas were to vote for them, then they would do very well indeed in the Euro elections. But, because they are new on the scene, people like me will wonder if voting Libertas will be a wasted vote. I think a massive campaign is needed.

I have no doubt that Libertas will take votes away from the Conservatives in the Euros, after all they have very similar policies where the EU is concerned. The Conservatives are going to have to up their game.

Here is Declan Ganley giving a Libertas press conference in Paris. It's an excellent speech that will appeal to many right of centre voters. The Shadow Cabinet need to be worried.

The UK's 1st newsletter from Libertas.

Today I received the first UK newsletter to come out of Libertas. Here's what their Party Leader – Robin Matthews has to say:

This week Libertas launched in the UK giving us the opportunity to step out of the shadows of preparation and get on with the real business of convincing the UK electorate that if they want to have any chance of effecting real and positive change in Europe, then Libertas, the first truly pan-European political party, is the vehicle to achieve this.

Our aim is clear: we want root and branch reform of the European Union; reform that is driven from the grassroots rather than unelected elites; reform that respects the sovereignty of member states and most preciously the sovereignty of the individual at the ballot box.

To achieve this, we need to send a very clear message to Gordon Brown that despite his best efforts to smuggle it in by the back door, the United Kingdom is not signed up to the Lisbon Treaty. Allied to this will be a commitment to restoring democracy, accountability and transparency to the EU. Libertas will unveil how it intends to achieve this during the campaign.

We of course need your unstinting and imaginative support. We have some truly excellent people stepping forward as candidates, but need even more: real people with real experience who truly represent the UK demographic. We also need everyone to drive the fundraising effort forward and galvanise the armies of foot soldiers who we will need to help us on the ground now and in the final run up.

Finally, I am frequently told that time is short, which it is. However, as I have often said in reply, the need to say No to Lisbon is urgent, the aim of reform is clear and the message is strong. Moreover, as I watch the daily growth in momentum, both in the UK and right across Europe, all I see is opportunity to score real success at the June elections. A revamped website up and running shortly is a major step forward to helping us achieve this.

What do you think?

Nick Coke of Libertas UK replies to my email.

This is an email I sent to Libertas UK.

I like what you are saying:

"This is Libertas' promise and its demand. Join us, give us your support and Libertas will give you the referendum on the anti-democratic Lisbon Treaty that the Brussels elites have conspired to deny you. In so doing we will give you the opportunity to say yes or no to the current status quo. This will provide you with an altogether more ambitious and enterprising choice."

I'm an anti Lisbon Treaty blogger. I would love to have a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, but can you explain how giving you my support will give me one?

P.s I know that I'm a Tory blogger, but I'm not taking the p*ss. If you can deliver a referendum, you will get both my support and my vote.

Best Regards

Steve Green

Daily Referendum Blog.

And here is their reply:

Dear Mr Green

Thank you for your email. The way we will effect change is by the fact that we will be the only genuinely pan-European party in the EP. This will mean that, given adequate support in June, we will become the biggest Party in the European Parliament and therefore have sufficient clout to force reform. Top of that list of reform will be to throw out the Lisbon Treaty and put in its place a shorter, more readable version which will be put to a referendum.

Regards

Nick Coke

Obviously the stumbling block here is the "given adequate support" bit.

Labour voters reject Euro in latest poll.

A poll carried out by YooGov on behalf of Caroline Flint, the Minister of State for Europe, questioned Labour voters on the their desire to join the Euro. A staggering 98% percent rejected it out of hand.

Many of those questioned told the pollsters that they were "more than happy with the Giro."