Monday 14 January 2013

Nonsense On Stilts

Even BBC's Nick Robinson is openingly mocking Cameron's EU referendum position (ignoring the superfluous use of the phrase "in other words"):
You hear David Cameron saying on Today people feel increasingly left out of the debate, you hear him say he wants the country to give its full-hearted consent. Ha! You say, yes he's going to give us a referendum on Europe at last.
But just be a little careful - the prime minister has ruled out an in/out referendum now on Europe. In other words a choice now about whether we stay or go - he's ruled it out before the next election.

In other words, what we learned from the Today programme interview, which is a dramatic shift - we'd had hints and nudges before - is that he has set out how we might get that referendum on Europe after the next election, but there is a series of ifs:
  • If he wins the next election alone (in other words doesn't have to get this past Nick Clegg)
  • If he can persuade other European countries, particularly Germany that they need and want treaty change
  • If Britain can then get what it wants in negotiations
  • If he thinks he can then win a referendum
If all that happens, well then, yes, there will be a referendum which he thinks will approve a new better settlement for Europe.

But his difficulty in giving that big speech on Europe in about a week's time is what if he's wrong on any one of those ifs?

Because then the pressure will remain on him from within his party and from outside, not least the UK Independence Party, saying they are not willing to wait for those ifs, saying they are not willing to wait all that time, saying that they are not willing, in other words, to trust him.

Saying, in short, "we want our choice now".
But essentially, what has happened today is that the prime minister has shifted to say you WILL get a referendum one day - in certain circumstances.

6 comments:

  1. Cameron knows he has no chance of winning the next election. Labour certainly don't want a referendum. If the ruling elite continue like this people will find their own methods of having their own sovereignty. The Leviathan within us may come out. May it be a tamed and controlled one.

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  2. The UKIP website has a reference to the CONservativeHome website survey of CONservative party members.

    http://conservativehome.blogs.com/thetorydiary/2013/01/78-of-tory-members-support-common-market-or-out.html

    Cameron seems to be at odds with all of them. But then we all knew that he wasn't a conservative... or even a CONservative...

    Just a grasping moron.

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  3. "But essentially, what has happened today is that the prime minister has shifted to say you WILL get a referendum one day - in certain circumstances."

    Might I be so bold as to put forward a slightly revised version of that final paragraph?

    "But essentially, what has happened today is that the prime minister has shifted to say you WILL get a referendum one day - in certain circumstances - but not necessarily the question you want to be asked - and only if you promise to vote for my party instead of Miliband's woeful bunch of incompetents."

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  4. The shape of the proposition seems to be, vote for a promise, which the Conservatives have not been enthusiastic about and have been cornered into, which will be hedged about with weasel words and won't be clear, and which for all sorts of reasons they may genuinely not be in a position to honour, as well as looking for excuses to wriggle out of.

    The promise being made by a party which doesn't have a clear and honest policy on, and maybe not a clear understanding of the issue of the EU, anyway.

    I wouldn't be surprised if this speech was a milestone in the decline of the Conservative Party.


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  5. @how life is changing I'm not sure Cameron is aware that he has no chance, or indeed that repatriating powers from the EU is not possible. I tend to think he is actually that deluded.

    But you're right that eventually the people will have had enough eventually and seek out their own sovereignty.

    @right_writes Trouble is most of the Tories are 'grasping morons' also for continuing to support him.

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  6. @Autonomous Mind You can be as bold as you like correcting Nick Robinson's views ;-) And yes the revised paragraph makes much more sense...

    @cosmic, Yes agreed, the Tories have tried to walk the tightrope between liking Brussels and pretending not to for far too long. The deceit is now coming back to haunt them, in spades.

    Cameron really has to pull a Flemish Giant out of the hat to try to salvage the situation. Failing that then the Tory party resumes its downward trajectory, with gusto, into insignificance.

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