Robin

Perhaps he believes he should be an independent journalist , with no ties to any party.

Independent UKIP

On the original question - Peter Hitchens Good.

As he has never been formally willing to support UKIP in the past I doubt he will do so in the future. It wouldn't surprise me if he knows some things about the leadership that we don't know. Just knowing what we do know has put off many Anti-EU activists.

I believe he has previously said that the Tories need to split in order to save the nation. If that happens I hope Farage won't try to scupper it. His form is relatively good on this - he wanted to link with Referendum Party activists after 1997 rather than rely on their disaffecteds.

Moving Target

I saw him recently on Andrew Neil's show on BBC1, and for once I wasn't sorry I hadn't turned over. Mind you I think I'd even watched Question Time that night also :shock:

As always he was top quality - in fact the comparision between him and Diane Abbott/Michael Portillo was nothing short of embarrassing. The main thrust of his arguement was that essentially the New Labour and the Conservative parties were 'finished' and simply propping each other up. Millions of people don't vote because the parties have nothing to offer and dare to call their political battlefield as the centre ground - when it certainly isn't. Most of the rest of the electorate vote out of habit.

He also talked of a political vacuum - but didn't seem indicate whom he believed could or should step into it.

eublues

It puzzles me what he wants to happen in British politics, but at a guess, like Frederick Forsyth, he actually thinks that the Tories will see the light.

eublues

While I think of it, Tony Parsons did an excellent feature on the Andrew Neill show last week.

Gave it straight about EU immigration being fine for the rich (like himself) but a total disaster for the 5 million British people unemployed or those on low wages.

Moving Target

Eublues

How about the rest of us?

I'm assuming here your not as well off as Tony Parsons by the way.

What's the benefit been to us - those of us not (particularly) low paid or unemployed?

eublues

On the margins you may get your new bathroom installed for less, bigger range of places to eat out, and the housing market will be a bit stronger for the time being.

On almost everything else no benefit: over-crowding; road congestion; health, education and social services costing more and being spread more thinly; less support for British pensioners who have contributed to this country all their lives; fewer job opportunities for our children or grandchildren; less and less chance of being able to reclaim the right to govern ourselves.

Moving Target

Quite agree.

The housing market ridiculously over inflated so there's no hope of buying a bigger house, even though yours has gone up in value. Your children - they may as well forget it now.

Everything else - no advantage whatsoever.

Are we really, all of us, that stupid that we fall for it?

Britannist

I'm pretty sure that, a couple of weeks ago, the author and anti-EU campaigner, Frederick Forsyth said in a speech to the Bruges Group that he thought the Conservatives would never take the UK out of the EU - unless a referendum vote to quit the EU forced them to.

In his speech, he said that the Better off Out (of the EU) group of 9 Conservative MPs would never be able to persuade a majority of Conservative MPs to join their cause. Mr. Forsyth told the Bruges Group that the way forward was to try to get a referendum on the EU.

eublues

He might have just given up on the Tories but he was arguing for them as the only credible route to getting out until very recently (as in letters to Eurofacts). We will see what he says in months ahead.