News From The New Alliance in 2004

LGA sense on metric

New Lab and bullying

Blair's EU vote muddle

Public reject the EU

Behind the tax rises

Ken pushes London in Europe

Howard rattled by public disquiet

'AT LAST - SENSE ON METRICATION'
The new Vice-Chairman of the Local Government Association, Cllr Peter Chalke (also leader of the Con. group), suggested on 12.07.04 that: "Trading Standards Officers need to concentrate efforts into the areas that most effectively protect and advise the public. I personally do not think that the prosecution of traders who continue to use imperial measures can ever be one of those priorities."

He added: "Local government is facing budgetary pressures from all directions and it seems somewhat absurd that public money has to be used to bring these sorts of cases.... you really have to question whether this law is just another example of the stupid and irrelevant regulations coming out of the EU at present."

Previous LGA and government positions

'CARING LABOUR' COULDN'T GIVE A HEWITT?
On 24.3.04, the Labour Party website announced Ł1m of taxpayers' money would be used to 'investigate' anti-gay bullying in schools. Minister Patricia Hewitt said: "Bullying means potential down, stress up and tribunals up. We're going to turn these around."

It is ironic that these words come from the Trade and Industry Secretary who used to be associated with civil liberties. On 8.5.04, the Daily Mail reported that the Labour-controlled Local Government Association has told Town Halls to launch a new crackdown on (the many) market traders still selling in imperial measures.

So apparently bullying is acceptable when applied to consenting adults who wish to buy and sell in their preferred measures. (This is particularly abhorrent after greengrocer Steven Thoburn died of a heart attack after his long drawn out legal case).

Ms Hewitt is a classic example of why Labour is no longer the party of the working man, but of a self-satisfied political elite living off his taxes.

'Metric Martyrs' campaign: More on how you can support your local traders against metrication bullies

"A REFERENDUM" - BUT WHAT? WHEN?
Smell a rat?

On 18.4.04, BBC radio news bulletins practically announced a referendum on the proposed EU Constitution. We urged caution until the official announcement - as there was no firm commitment in the spin!

This Government is known for its dirty tricks and contempt for real democracy. We felt that the announcement might be vague, and maybe we might not get a referendum until 24 other EU states had ratified the Constitution. (NB and it might not happen if, say, Denmark or the Irish Republic voted 'No').

Having maintained that the Constitutional changes are so trivial that it is all just a 'tidying up exercise', Blair seemed likely to offer a referendum only for selfish party political reasons - such as a tactical advantage over the Tories and avoiding the loss of Labour seats in June. (It would also save him the double humiliation of having both a growing back-bench rebellion in the Commons and a Bill on the EU Constitution thrown back by the Lords).

Blair made a Commons statement on 20.4.04 (coincidentally the birthday of Adolf Hitler, who used a referendum to introduce a dictatorial regime). The media again hailed a 'referendum', but the word was only mentioned once in his statement - in the separate context of the Euro!

Amazingly the R-word was also omitted on the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) Website Update of the same day which merely proclaimed:
'LET THE PEOPLE HAVE THE FINAL SAY' ON NEW EUROPEAN TREATY - TONY BLAIR

It wasn't so long ago that New Labour said that the people might have their say on the Euro through either an election or a referendum. It took an interview (Sky News, 20.4.04, reported by FCO, 21.4.04), for the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, to explain the Government's 'decision to hold a referendum' on the new European Constitutional treaty, and even that was 'spin'

'We found that the arguments on the merits of the Constitution and our relationship were being drowned out by distortions and fabrications about what was in the document and anxieties about the nature of the relationship', Mr Straw said. He stressed that it is still the case that the new Constitution would not fundamentally change the relationship between the United Kingdom and member states, but that a referendum is now needed to 'establish a new commitment between the British voter and the European Union about our future within Europe'. (Sorry, Jack, but a referendum isn't yours to call. Please tell us why that didn't come from the top?)

(NB As far as we are aware, Blair only conceded a conditional referendum in an interview on 15.6.04. Source: No 10 website, www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page5962.asp).

Interestingly, the Hansard [Parliament] website lists a 'Constitution for the European Union (Referendum) Bill'. The Commons Debate on 23.4.04 was adjourned until 16.7.04. The Opposition did not have the quorum needed to get the bill through, and Debate showed major flaws in the practicality of its provisions. For instance, it sought to give European Parliament electors ('EU citizens') as well as Britons the right to vote on our future. Can the experienced Parliamentarians behind it really be that cack-handed, or was it designed to fail?

Prime Minister's website, full text, 20.4.04

FCO website release, 21.4.04

Text of 'Referendum' Bill

Hansard for 23.4.04 (see halfway down)

Articles on the Constitution - and why you can't trust New Labour

PEOPLE REJECTING THE EU - EVERYWHERE
Ann Robinson compered The Great British Test, a quiz show on the British way of life and history (ITV, 20.3.04). When she gave the answer to the question "What are the first two words on the current UK passport?" (European Union), a massive jeer from the audience was heard.

It reflects a broader and growing dissatisfaction with the EU. More and more public figures are speaking out.

l	Deep Purple rock star Ian Gillan attacked the EU's control freakery (Metro, 18.8.03).
l	Actress Felicity Kendal exposed moves to get an EU Directive on vitamin supplements through (D.Telegraph, 19.7.03).
l	Southampton FC chairman Rupert Lowe slated European Commission interference in League TV rights talks (match programme, 31.8.03).
l	Christopher Smallwood, economic adviser to Barclays, was quoted as questioning if we should integrate our economy more closely with Europe's. '...as far ahead as we can see, Europe is going to be one of the more subdued areas of the world. It would be more rational to orientate the British economy towards areas of rapid growth' (Sunday Times magazine, 15.2.04, referring to a Sunday Times article of August 2003).
l	Manufacturers are experiencing increasing dissatisfaction with EU economic and business policies, according to Engineering Employers' Federation president Mike Baunton. Their support for the Euro is also declining. (Financial Times, 9.9.03)
l	The CBI Conference complained of increasing EU regulations (BBC News, 17.11.03).
l	European car makers angrily complained about EU proposals that could raise car prices by over Ł3,000 (BBC News, 1.3.04).
l	Formula One boss Max Mosley has moved to non-EU Monaco due to the draconian potential of the EU Arrest Warrant (Times, 1.3.04).
l	A Morgan Stanley bank report 'Euro Wreckage?' warns of a higher risk of EMU break-up and even countries leaving the EU (D.Telegraph, 7.2.04).
l	Oil industry bosses objected to plans to give the EU control of our oil in the draft Constitution. The Oil and Gas Industry Leadership Team fears a threat to investment and thousands of job losses in our Ł21Bn-a-year North Sea oil industry (Sun, 1.11.03, Times, 17.11.03).
l	Formerly very EU-enthusiastic author Ferdinand Mount described 2003 as the year the European dream faded: "To put it bluntly, 2003 has been a shocker. If the EU were a football club, it would be in administration, with the fans massing outside the stadium and yelling 'Prodi out!" (S. Times, 28.12.03).
l	On 'Mel & Des's TV show, comic Jim Davidson recently urged the audience to pull out of the EU!

BEHIND YOUR TAX RISES - BROWN KNOWS?
How was it for you? The 17.3.04 Budget and the stealth tax rises?

Liam Halligan is Channel 4 News' economics correspondent. Analysing a pattern, he wrote in the London Evening Standard of 3.11.03:

"The mounting tax burden is rapidly pushing us in the direction of continental Europe... Treasury mandarins, at the highest level, are studying European models of property taxation. Such taxes also featured in Brown's euro-assessment in June [2003]".

Despite the noises he makes, our potential Prime Minister is far from 'Eurosceptic'.

We look at Gordon Brown's track record

LONDON'S FUTURE IN EUROPE?
Ken Livingstone's four years in office have been a revelation of the EU dimension of regional government. We look at London as a precedent for how other 'regional government' in England might be.

Click for article

HOWARD RUNS SCARED AFTER PUTTING FEDERALISTS FIRST
The UK Independence Party made a massive impact on Conservative voters at the European Parliament elections. with 16% of the vote. (The actual percentage favouring withdrawal is a lot higher, as not all voters recognise the legitimacy of the European Parliament. Or in some cases they support other anti-EU candidates, such as Neil Herron or from the English Democratic Party).

After having the effrontery to describe his federalist-supporting party as Putting Britain First, and suspending four patriotic peers, Michael Howard claims that supporting EU withdrawal is 'extremism'.

He might ask whether voters would find the programme of the European People's Party 'extreme'? Or reflect on greengrocer Steven Thoburn, who suffered a heart attack after being prosecuted for selling in the measures his customers understand. His sad untimely death leaves a widow and three children.

This tragedy was the result of metrication legislation rushed through by Howard's colleague and BBC darling Michael Heseltine. A solid case of Putting Europe First, and one of the reasons behind two landslide election defeats.

Howard's early months in office have been characterised by the same equivocation as his predecessors. On one hand, he talks about repatriating powers and a flexible Europe. On the other, he reverses IDS's earlier policy of distancing the party from continental federalists.

The Sunday Telegraph, 11.4.04, reported that eleven Tory members of the European Parliament defied Michael Howard's orders by backing a motion of censure against the European Commission seeking an emergency debate on fraud and corruption allegations. After Party pressure, only seven Tory MEPs still supported the measure on 21.4.04, and it was defeated.

The revealing Eurofacts journal reported on 14.5.04 that all Tory MEP candidates were forced to sign up to the Party's deal with the federalist European People's Party - or face deselection. Worth noting that no sanctions have been applied to Tories that support the Constitution or scrapping the Pound.

Footnote: In fairness we note that in July 2004, the formation of a 'European Democratic Group' (EDG) was announced. This is to be a group within the EPP-ED Group in the European Parliament, with its own freedom of thought on EU institutions and the proposed EU constitution.

As the EDG had no constitution at the time of enquiry, it is not possible to say how 'Eurosceptic' it is, although as it includes all the British 'Conservative' MEPs, it will have a mix of federalist-leaning and anti-federalist members. Look out for developments.

More on Howard and analysis of the apparent contradictions

This page reformatted: 24 October 2004

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