Jun 11 2007
No EU Constitution please - we are British
If Gordon Brown is serious about wanting to strengthen our feeling of Britishness, he should start by ruling out all further changes to our constitution that give more power to Brussels. Many of the politcal elite on the continent wish to replace national feelings of identity and community with European ones, and see the draft Constitution as part of that process.
We are told we must have a new Treaty because a Union of 27 will otherwise be unable to make decisions. What a load of nonsense. The EU is busily passing more laws than I want, and making more decisons than I would like, even with its current architecture.
The EU is on another of its power grabs. ??It wants to centralise more, and speed up decision taking, overriding individual countries who do not agree with its proposed new laws. We should be making the case for less EU decision taking. We want fewer laws, not more laws. The fact that the EU is arguing for streamlined decision making should cause an explosion of anger about how undemocratic the current procedures are for law making, not a passive acceptance that they do need more power to speed the process up.
One of the cleverest things about the EU power grab is they always try to find individual laws or proposals that each member state would like, and then argue they will be thwarted if they do not sign up to enormous power to the unelected government in Brussels. Let me make it clear, there are absolutely no new laws or powers I want Brussels to have, nor shoudl any other sensible British person.
They have already shown their unsuitability to wield serious power by the mess they have created in agriculture and fishing where they run the whole show. That’s no advert for them to take over criminal justice and foreign policy.
This is a time for the UK to play the veto - and to offer to vote for a new Treaty or Constitution only if we write in an opt out for the UK from?? the current main powers of the EU that get in our way as a free country, as well as opting out of the new Treaty’s unacceptable transfers of power.
John Redwood has been the Member of Parliament for Wokingham since 1987. First attending Kent College, Canterbury, he graduated from Magdalen College...
John, as one of the few politicians deigning to converse with the voters, please could you explain why the opposition can’t be arsed to oppose ?
In a past comment I have referred to the EDM up for signature….
http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=33387&SESSION=885
this is the response from my Conservative MP to my question to him about the lack of his signature.
“Thank you. My party is opposed to an EU constitution so would not put
in to a referendum - as you say most people wouldn’t want it so we know
the likely outcome of any referendum here and particularly given verdicts
expressed elsewhere. Hope that helps.”
Hope that helps !!! indeed why should I think it helps. It certainly has helped me to decide who will not get my vote next time.
there are 6 Conservative signatures and 11 labour on the EDM at present
Just who is the opposition … do they care ?
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We have a veto do we? Let’s face it, you’d never have guessed. EU foreign policy, there’s a joke. Along what lines would it be exactly? Foreign policy is surely becoming a more important consideration for the UK electorate, how would we know what we were voting for in terms of foreign policy if it was decided by appointees in Brussels? At least with the USA you can find out what think-tanks are in vogue and read what they’ve got to say. Go on the Europa website and there isn’t really anything crunchy in terms of common foreign policy, just economic stuff about who gets what import and export tariffs and trade agreements for the next dozen or so years. Nothing about when EU members should support military intervention or any long-term strategy goals. Doesn’t tell me whether they believe in supporting vile regimes where convenient or seeking to change them, and if so through what means. I see it’s only this May just gone that the EU seem to have begun the long process of pulling their fingers out of their backsides on cyberdefence. Over the pond the neo-cons have been preaching about this for years and overt NATO action has been underway in new-Europe since 2003 from what I can see.
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Speak up and vote about Europe at http://www.FreeEurope.info.
One liner: “Human development in its richest diversity” (J S Mill)
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Yet more powers to the unaccountable bureaucrats in Brussels. Who gave you politicians permission to give away any of our sovereignty in the first place. Any referendum should be on withdrawal from the EU, it’s time the electorate decided.
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