tamashi

On the day of the best Tory poll figures for 15 years and only two days before the Lib Dems get their new leader there’s an audacious move by Cameron which could prove problematic for Nick Clegg or Chris Huhne.

For in an initiative calculated to put the new leader on the spot immediately Cameron has offered to join forces with the third party to forge a “new progressive alliance’ to challenge Gordon Brown.”

The offer comes in an article by the Tory leader on his website in which he says “I’ve always believed that political parties, even though they may have serious disagreements over many aspects of policy, should work together in areas where they agree..So I hope than in 2008 the Liberal Democrats and the Green party will join us in putting pressure on the government to decentralise power, and that together we can create a new progressive alliance to decentralise British politics.”

But look at who Cameron is trying to recruit! Lib-Dems and Greens, both as pro-europe as it is possible to get. I rather hope the alliance does come off. It would make it impossible for the Tories to continue pretending to be Euro-sceptics.

steve fowler

Charles Kenndey has already said on the BBC today that there will be no deal with Cameron ever though charles himself is not the leader anymore.

BBC NEWS | Politics | Kennedy rejects Tory pact offer

Britannist

As I wrote in another thread, the comments by pro-EU and anti-UKIP David Cameron on decentralisation accord with official Liberal Dim Party policy.

Some europhiles in the Conservative Party appear to have already hinted that they might want to 'work with' the obsessively pro-EU Liberal Dims in the event of a Parliament with no overall majority (i.e. a minority pro-EU Conservative Government kept in power by the votes of europhile Liberal Dim party MPs).

As you appear to apply (in your last posting to this thread) Tamashi - the pro-EU element in the Conservative (Tory) Party would willingly 'worth with' the europhile leftist Liberal Dims and/or Greens but would rather destroy the Conservative Party than see it join forces with UKIP MPs (if UKIP had any MPs in the House of Commons).

Britannist

A deal by pro-EU and anti-UKIP David Cameron with the obsessively europhile Liberal Dims to form a Cameron-Conservative/Liberal Dim coalition Government or 'working together agreement' in the House of Commons would result in a huge number of eurosceptic and/or anti-EU Conservative Party members resigning from the Conservative Party and joining UKIP. There would also be uproar in the ranks of the Liberal Dim party at such a 'deal' - most Liberal Dim party members hate the Conservative Party just as much as they hate our country.

The Liberal Dim party is a part of the europhile 'broad left' and if the Conservatives move closer to the Liberal Dims they will end up being let down by them. No one trusts the Dim Liberals and the last time a Government relied on their support it ended up being let down badly by them (i.e. the minority Callaghan Labour Government in the late 1970's formed a 'Lib/Lab' pact - but, characteristicly, the Liberals (as they were then calling themselves) dumped Labour when the going got tough).

GreenerWorld

As a Green reader, rather than poster, to this forum, I'll briefly contribute.

Green policy is against the Euro, and against the constitution/treaty but we are not calling for the UK to pull out of Europe. We are in favour of referenda to give voters an opportunity to express their views.

Cameron's blog is 100% tactical. The Lib Dems are being squeezed by the Tories on one side, Labour on the other. In some areas such as Brighton and Norwich, the Greens have eroded the support the LDs have previously gained locally (because they were the only alternative to Tory/Labour). If we repeat what has happened already in Brighton in other places round the country, the Lib Dem decline could be very rapid.

The two reasons he will have mentioned us is that it gives him a chance to sound cuddly and nice (there has been no Tory contact to talk directly to the Greens about this) and to stir things up ahead of a likely Clegg victory.

Huhne's more committed supporters, particularly the more environmentally minded ones, may start to consider moving over to us should he lose. There is already one councillor defection in the pipeline that I know of, and that is from just one Euro region.

We'll be very discerning about who we are willing to accept to represent the Green party locally, but if Clegg starts rolling out Orange book policies in 6 to 12 months time, there will be quite a few more potential defectors. Cameron's "elevation" of the Greens in his blog is to "big up" our credibility and hopefully weaken the Lib Dems as a result.

Anthony Butcher

GreenerWorld, I was about to say that the Greens are somewhat eurosceptic (not anti-EU though), but you beat me to it. There is a world of difference between their EU policy and the Lib Dem policy.

Welcome to the forum!

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steve fowler

Im afraid Greenerworld that we cannot stay in somethink like the EU that is corrupt to the core and always was from the day it started you and the peoples of europe will never get a say in how you want the eu to be run, besides we were lied to 30 years ago about the common market and are in the eu illegally as it is illegal to transfer any British powers over to to somethink like eu.

But welcome to the forum anyway.

Phil Sheldon

Charles Kennedy set to climb back on frontline wagon.

Sources say that after private talks with the deposed former leader, Clegg and Huhne have indicated that whichever one of them is elected will formally ask him to head a commission that will frame Lib Dem policy on Europe in particular how to combat Euroscepticism among voters.

Charles Kennedy set to climb back on frontline wagon - Times Online

Why on earth would Call Me Dave want to join forces with a rabid Europhile party?
He 's more likely to lose voters than gain them. He's becoming another Tory plonker.

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Barboo

Hello, GreenerWorld.

How do you square what you have written here with your party's membership of the European Green Party? I see the Committee of the EGP has produced a statement, dated 11 December 2007, re its position on the Lisbon Treaty <http://www.europeangreens.org/cms/default/dokbin/211/211081.egp_committee_position_on_the_lisbon_tre@en .pdf>
which says:

quote
c) About the ratification process
Following this analysis, we think that Greens should vote in favor of the Lisbon Treaty wherever their vote is required
unquote

SponPlague

Given the CFP leads to dead fish being dumped in the sea, how do you propose to address this without leaving the EU, Greenworld? Camerloon has had Ted Brocklebank, a front-bench MSP resign because Dodgy Dave dropped a commitment to leave the CFP...