gina

From The Tap Blog

Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Boris 'Writing On Wall' For Britain's EU Membership
The election of Boris Johnson is sending shivers down spines across European capitals. In his young days as the European correspondent of the Daily Telegraph, he became known for writing eurosceptic pieces such as 'Europe My Part In Its Downfall' which did much to help build the early British eurosceptic movement. The memory is enough to limit European enthusiasm for his becoming Mayor of London, it seems.

From Mark Mardell's Euroblog - A beaming new Boris smiles out and salutes from many a European newspaper, but I don't think they are giving his victory the space that they should.

Some of the international media have their own particular take, like this in the Azerbaijan press: "Boris Johnson is Turkish-origin British. He is great grandson of last interior minister of the Ottoman Empire Ali Kemal."
But it's not Boris's origins but the omens that matter to Europe. (Full article HERE)

He is feared, not only as his euroscepticism is well known, but also because his selection as Conservative candidate for Mayor tends to indicate that Cameron too is a determined eurosceptic. With the Conservatives riding 18 points ahead in the polls, and with Labour in free fall, the arrival of Boris as Mayor is inevitably concentrating European minds on the Cameron question. What kind of European will Cameron be?

The answer is that no one is yet sure.

He famously told Angela Merkel that 'we would make better neighbours than tenants'.

What did he mean by that?

The form of Cameron's euroscepticism so far is certainly not that of a withdrawalist. He will be leading the Conservatives out of the EPP next year in time to form a new grouping in the European Parliament with the following objectives in mind..

Don’t just think of it as leaving the EPP writes Dan Hannan MEP,Think of it as what it really is: leading the crusade for reform in Europe. Let me quote David Cameron again: “I want to apply the modernising approach that I am bringing to the Conservative Party to our approach to Europe. I want us to be the champions of change, optimism and hope in Europe as well as Britain. It is time for a Europe not of deals but of ideals. So we say to the moderate mainstream, who are not satisfied with the EU as it is today: come and join us – we have a future to fight for.” Hard to disagree, no?

As Dan Hannan MEP points out, the new grouping will be the first time there will be any opposition in the European Parliament, and it might become possible to influence the course of events in Europe.

I guess Cameron will be in a strong position to either change the EU into something worth belonging to, or if he has tried hard and failed to make progress, he could then reasonably proceed from a role as a reformer into becoming a withdrawalist.

To my way of thinking, it will have taken four years to leave the EPP and form the new grouping. That might be followed by a Parliament (UK) of trying to make it work - and then if good results are not forthcoming, there could be a move towards withdrawalism after the next election, which might take place in 2015.

The timetable would be set for Britain to withdraw by say 2016 or 2017 with full popular support for such a move. Events might accelerate the process, if for example the Euro began to collapse, or if international events created a major split. But with Cameron and Boris Johnson leading the way, Britain seems at last to be moving in the right direction.

In the meantime Cameron will face a raft of propaganda from the British media if he presses too hard or quickly on the eurosceptic front, such as this picture accusing him of wanting to 'take Britain back into the dark ages' from the Daily Mail. No wonder he has to proceed slowly, and ensure all bases are covered. His first objective after all has to be to win power.

eublues

A vague expectation of reforming the EU is mainstream Toryism. It can't work and its intention is to deceive.

Britannist

On the subject of this thread (Mr. Boris Johnson MP - Mayor of London since last week) -

Independent newspaper columnist Bruce Anderson claims in an article that Mr. Johnson is not a Conservative:

"Boris Johnson is not a Tory" claims columnist Bruce Anderson

Roland

It's hard to say what the conservative parties true agenda is.

I think they're more Eurosceptic than they will publicly admit but weather they'll have the bulls to put that into practice is another story.

mkpdavies

Show me your evidence.

Every time they have been in power, they have handed over more power than any other government to the EU. They even conned us into it in the first place and signed us up to the Maasricht treaty.

The Tories are the true champions of European Union in Britain.

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Britannist

David Cameron has:

1. Banned anti-EU Conservative MPs from sitting in the Shadow Cabinet (although pro-EU MPs can become members of it and are in it)

2. Insulted anti-EU UKIP in comments he made in April 2006 - he chose UKIP as his first target for public criticism of another political party

3. Praised EU leaders on his visit to Brussels where he met Barroso (EU boss) and, where he allegedly met europhile Mandelson too.

4. Failed to pull the UK Conservative group of MEPs out of the pro-euro and pro-EU Superstate EPP group in Brussels (he promised in his Autumn 2005 campaign for the Conservative leadership that he would pull UK Conservatives out of the EPP group in the EU 'Parliament' "in months not years")

5. Dropped the Conservative Party pledge - backed by his three predecessors - to pull the UK out of the costly and damaging EU Common Fisheries Policy (angering the Scottish Conservative Party in doing so - some in it allegedly claimed that there was no consultation about the change of policy)

Britannist

The Conservative Party has not won a General Election since the formation of UKIP. Something the pro-EU element in the Conservative Party do not want pointed out.

The result of the disastrous Governments of the europhile 'Conservatives' Heath and Major is that hundreds of thousands of anti-EU Conservatives voted UKIP at the last General Election and several million former Conservative voters who do not want the EU to run our country abstained last time.

kernow

I agree with you Matt! On the other hand the Tories like almost all career politicians will look after their own interests and will drop the EU project like a hot brick, if it begins to crumble!

Roland

It would be impossible to show one piece of evidence.

Politics is a very complicated game theirs little point in taking what politicians say as anything more than spin. So I watch what they do read between the lines and look at all the factors and variables to try and work out what their up to.

The difference between labour's EU and conservatives EU is labour believe in it the conservatives use it for personal and political advantage.

I've read many pro EU articles where Britain used to constantly get slatted by the rest of the EU for only being in it for their own interests and not playing ball with the rest of the union and always holding things up or slowing things down. Most European Eu supporters would like to see Britain kicked out but their is obviously a plan and we're part of it.

The conservatives that sold the country out we're either bribed or conned.

Then their was Blair who was basically a tory he sold the country out for his own political gain he could not give a toss what the EU do or what it dose or weather it's good or bad or the advantages or disadvantages or how it can be used he just took the money and ran.

Now we have brown who genuinly loves the EU and thinks the EU's all things good and Britain is as a sovereign nation is all things bad and all requests and directives should be immediately followed with out question. He see's his job as more getting round the British people rather than looking after they're interests.

So yes their all a bunch of lying traitors and wile I'm no fan of the conservative party I'll feel safer under them than I do under labour.

There are two thing's that we must keep which are the pound and our own army as long as we have these we our in the union not run by it and then it is the choice of the government of the day weather we abide by it or challenge it. On saying this the Treaty is a more sinister step it cause us to be financially inter looked with the EU.

I have no doubt that their are very powerful faceless people behind the EU and their strangle hold is getting stronger at least a conservative government will slow it down and may break down the propaganda machine which labour have put into action.

tito

Thank you very much Britannist, that summary will be very useful to those of us trying to show the Tories aren't Eurosensible!

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