In the next couple of months the Board of the Consrvative Party will decide how candidates for the 2009 European Elections will be selected. There has been much comment about how this should be done, about the implications for incumbent MEPs, and about the (mis-)alignment between the attitude to Europe of our delegation in Brussels and Party members.
The Spectator is now reporting a recommendation by the party’s National European Forum that unlike the selection for 1999 and 2004, party members will have no say in the selection of candidates. According to the Spectator, the proposal is that incumbents would require the approval of Regional Selection Colleges who would presumably rank the highest places in each regional list. Other places on the list would be allocated by CCHQ.
The arguments are all very reminiscent of the debate about how we select the Party Leader: members can not be trusted to act in the best interests of the Party; the cost of consulting members is disproportionate; an election would be a distraction. I know that some members of the Board believe that the hustings in previous selections were divisive. I thought that, given the passions that the EU raises among some party members on both sides of the debate, the hustings that I witnessed were conducted in a constructive spirit and members representing all shades of opinion contributed and were heard with respect.
There is clearly a belief among those who campaigned to remain within the EPP that they might pay a heavy price during an open selection and the protection being afforded to incumbents probably reflects this fear. I suspect that it is largely misplaced. In spite of the majority of party members being broadly euro-sceptic, the composition of the party in Brussels remained much the same after 2004. Members of the Party are a sophisticated electorate who are quite capable of appreciating the work, expertise and contribution of MEPs who hold a wide range of views.
Just as in the debate about selecting the Party Leader, the choice is what sort of organisation is the Conservative Party. Are we a membership organisation in which ordinary members actively participate in the decision making processes, or are our members just a supporters club: active, vociferous but disengaged?
Important as these issues are, I think that the way we select our European candidates also says something about our attitude to Europe. We criticise the EU for being centralising, for taking decisions behind closed doors, from promoting self-interested deals. We believe that institutions should be accountable. We believe that decisions should be taken locally where possible. We are proposing a new grouping in the European Parliament promoting a vision of the EU as more open, more outward-looking, more democratic. How much stronger would be our claim to be the voice of reform in Europe, how much greater would be our espousal of these values, how much more would these ideas resonate if we depended on these same principles in the selection of our candidates.
Let us renounce the hole-in-the-wall deal, the back-stairs fix. They give the impression that we do not take European Elections or MEPs seriously. Let’s trust party members by inviting them all to participate in candidate selection and ranking in a postal ballot. As David Cameron said in his New Year message last year, “I want us to usher in a new type of politics in this country: constructive, thoughtful and open-minded. And I want every single member and supporter of the Conservative Party to remember that personal commitment is the most powerful way to bring about change: as Gandhi said, "We must be the change we want to see in the world."”
22 comments:
Well I hope he puts in anti EU MEP's.
Have you checked out the Berlin declaration? I've never come across such bullshit since Gordon and Tony.
It protects us, our way of life, our individuality, it looks after its people.
Try telling that to the farmers the fisheries, the post office, the manufacturing, the countryside, our communities are dying because of EU dictats and Human rights.
Norman Tebitt let him select the MEP's and let us pull out of the EU once and for all before it is too late. Out of the EU we can become an island nation once again, with our laws and our traditions, respect, manners and pride to be British.
et us become a low tax ecconomy that encourages business back into the country.
Let us be allowed to be British.!
Let us farm the land and fish the seas.
Let us be friend with our European allies and let us be free to protect them.
Furthermore let new laws be passed that anyone granting or signing away powers without a referendum be hung for treason! MP's MEP's or bought for Lords!
Yes, and the more open we are in the selection of meps, the more scope we have to criticise the stalinist backroom stitchup being used for the "election" of the next labour primeminister..
Iain,
I agree with your view on allowing members to select the people that they are expected to campaign on behalf of in May 2009, but then, as the Returning Officer for the Lib Dems in South East England Euro Region, I would say that, wouldn't I...
But more seriously, it does that the powers that be are being unusually contradictory. Why is it appropriate to allow even non-Party members to take part in candidate selections in some Westminster seats yet equally valid to exclude even members from the decision-making process?
Good luck with the campaign to empower Conservative members!
Sorry but the Berlin Declaration can only be read in German - Blair spent a long time having certain phrases wordsmithed in English.
If Iain knows Goethe's Erlkoenig he can recognise Und bist Du nicht willig, so brauch' ich Gewalt which is a fair rendition of the section about "zu Ihrem Glueck bringen" in the German text Blair had translated as "united in happiness"
Why should members of the Conservative party have to be "empowered". Surely to God voting for those that will be representing them is their right in a democracy.
Dave is a control freak, just like Tone.
I think perhaps it has something to do with being a paterfamilia. They get to thinking "daddy knows best and we are going to do things daddy's way".
I think we should have a new ruling: no one with children under 16 allowed to stand for PM. I'm sick of these stupid, know-it-all, lecturing bossy-britches thinking they can order British adults around as though they were their children.
The Conservative Europhiles have lost. I see no reason for them to be protected from the general membership of the Conservative party.
Verity - you're not related to a blogger who calls himself "Mike" are you?
He frequently posts on Guido's blog and seems to have styled himself on you. Go and have a look for yourself.
Iain - following on from your earlier comment, I have now posted 3 comments on Guido Fawke's blog, suggesting that his reported drop in traffic is something to do with today's date.
He has comment moderated (deleted) all three of them.
I trust that our good friend isn't getting too precious...
Professor Hemlock said...
Verity - you're not related to a blogger who calls himself "Mike" are you?
I resent that Hemlock I have in the past posted that I find Verity to be a very boring person indeed,I am however not a boring person.If you pop over to Guidos' now you will see I am battling a group of Neanderthals and could do with a little assistance,any offers ?
"Mike"
Please consider the comparison to "Verity" a compliment.
It would appear that you like to engage in debate several other bloggers at once - rather like Chess Grand Masters do at exhibition tournaments.
Our friend Verity does the same on a regular basis and tends to stuff the opposition.
This is the new rock and roll...
professor hemlock said...Please consider the comparison to "Verity" a compliment.
O.k. never mind the compliments pop over to Guidos' I need some reinforcements.
Iain, please explain to me why we should bother with voting in the European elections ?? Trust me, I am not being facetious.
All the key law making powers are vested in the Commission which is totally unelected.
The Council of Ministers does [in my limited understanding] have national representation of the quality of Peter Mandelson.
The European Parliament is left to argue about bendy bananas and the like. The deliberately make it as confusing as possible, and indulge in huge amounts of obfuscation to obscure the fact that is not a jot of democracy in the whole place.
As the old anarchists proverb goes 'If voting changed anything, they would abolish it' - a phrase with more truth than any communication from Brussels/Strasbourg ever had.
paige @ 9:18pm has said it all for me. Well done paige.
The supremacy of British over EU law must be restored, and no EU must have effect in the UK until it has passed through every parliamentary stage exactly as if it had originated on the floor of either House.
Britain should adopt the show-stopping Empty Chair Policy in the Council of Ministers until it meets in public and publishes an Official Report akin to Hansard. At that point, of course, the "European" "Parliament" could be abolished.
That said, I might yet put up for it...
Professor Hemlock - Thank you. I am not familiar with "Mike" and I seldom set foot in Guido's because it seems to be all predictable, foul-mouthed teenage boys, or grown men who have never graduated from that condition.
I don't normally respond any more to anonymi, but Anonymous 11:21 makes some telling points. The EUSSR has been an exercise in deliberate obfuscation, the long-awaited defeat of democracy, and cheating since Day One. This explains the presence of the likes of Ted Heath, Chris Patton, Peter Mandelson, the Kinnocks (two of the highest "earners". Can anyone tell me what their roles are and what they have done?")
What actual role, as in a role that can be defined and executed, has any of the four still living (meant to exclude the dead Heath - although in Mandelson's case, I will amend that to the Dracula-esque 'living dead') has any of them played?
All the tens of thousands on living expenses and salaries for these four players, burrowing in, burrowing in and ... what? And the British and the Europeans march along with vacant eyes, paying, paying, paying ...
Iain writes: "In the next couple of months the Board of the Consrvative Party will decide how candidates for the 2009 European Elections will be selected."
What a ghastly statement.
There is no "decision" other than democracy.
Dave's a member of the nomenklatura. He knows what's best for the little people.
Anyone who votes for Dave is voting for more loss of traditional English sovereignty over his own person and his own family.
Relax. Dave is going to take care of you.
I don't mind how we do it so long as we can get rid of Caroline Jackson.
Are the EU Tories still hooked up with a bunch of Czech fascists? I've rather lost track recently...
Voyager said...
Sorry but the Berlin Declaration can only be read in German - Blair spent a long time having certain phrases wordsmithed in English.
Declaration on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the signature of the Treaties of Rome
For centuries Europe has been an idea, holding out hope of peace and understanding. That hope has been fulfilled. European unification has made peace and prosperity possible. It has brought about a sense of community and overcome differences. Each Member State has helped to unite Europe and to strengthen democracy and the rule of law. Thanks to the yearning for freedom of the peoples of Central and Eastern Europe the unnatural division of Europe is now consigned to the past. European integration shows that we have learnt the painful lessons of a history marked by bloody conflict. Today we live together as was never possible before.
We, the citizens of the European Union, have united for the better.
I.
In the European Union, we are turning our common ideals into reality: for us, the individual is paramount. His dignity is inviolable. His rights are inalienable. Women and men enjoy equal rights.
We are striving for peace and freedom, for democracy and the rule of law, for mutual respect and shared responsibility, for prosperity and security, for tolerance and participation, for justice and solidarity.
We have a unique way of living and working together in the European Union. This is expressed through the democratic interaction of the Member States and the European institutions. The European Union is founded on equal rights and mutually supportive cooperation. This enables us to strike a fair balance between Member States' interests.
We preserve in the European Union the identities and diverse traditions of its Member States.
We are enriched by open borders and a lively variety of languages, cultures and regions. There are many goals which we cannot achieve on our own, but only in concert. Tasks are shared between the European Union, the Member States and their regions and local authorities.
II.
We are facing major challenges which do not stop at national borders. The European Union is our response to these challenges. Only together can we continue to preserve our ideal of European society in future for the good of all European Union citizens. This European model combines economic success and social responsibility. The common market and the euro make us strong. We can thus shape the increasing interdependence of the global economy and evergrowing competition on international markets according to our values. Europe's wealth lies in the knowledge and ability of its people; that is the key to growth, employment and social cohesion.
We will fight terrorism, organised crime and illegal immigration together. We stand up for liberties and civil rights also in the struggle against those who oppose them. Racism and xenophobia must never again be given any rein.
We are committed to the peaceful resolution of conflicts in the world and to ensuring that people do not become victims of war, terrorism and violence. The European Union wants to promote freedom and development in the world. We want to drive back poverty, hunger and disease. We want to continue to take a leading role in that fight.
We intend jointly to lead the way in energy policy and climate protection and make our contribution to averting the global threat of climate change.
III.
The European Union will continue to thrive both on openness and on the will of its Member States to consolidate the Union's internal development. The European Union will continue to promote democracy, stability and prosperity beyond its borders.
With European unification a dream of earlier generations has become a reality. Our history reminds us that we must protect this for the good of future generations. For that reason we must always renew the political shape of Europe in keeping with the times. That is why today, 50 years after the signing of the Treaties of Rome, we are united in our aim of placing the European Union on a renewed common basis before the European Parliament elections in 2009.
For we know, Europe is our common future.
Hi anon - In the Prague mayor elections the ODS gained 54% of the vote more than three times the Socialists on 16%. Source. ODS in Czech and UDF in Bulgaria are our EU reform partners. Your charge is a ridiculous slur.
Paige, thank you for the English translation of the Berlin Declaration. Having read it with interest, I think it is UTTER TRIPE, & might just as well have stayed in German, a language I do not understand. Yes, let Norman Tebbit select the candidates.
B.O.O.
Well done Richard. Britain needs MEP's who will put Britain before all else - as anyone who swears to uphold the interests of the UK is expected to do, as an elected representative.
If their selection is done in secret, how can party members have any faith that the bias of those selecting MEP's is in line with their aspiraitions for their party or their country? Or, as looks increasingly the case, the members will have to shut up and put up with whatever is dictated to them. Not very respectful or far sighted.
Post a Comment