Earlier today I took part in a twenty minute discussion on Conservative European policy on Radio 4's BEYOND WESTMINSTER programme. The other participants were Peter Riddell of The Times and Europhile Conservative MEP Caroline Jackson. Click on the image above to listen to it. The first half is a series of interviews and then the discussion starts after 9.50 mins.
I was a bit disappointed that they edited out a minor spat between myself and Caroline, who said that Dan Hannan should be thrown out of the Conservative Party for opposing party policy (on EU Membership). I retorted by saying that was a bit rich coming from someone who did so as a matter of course, but especially on withdrawing from the EPP.
17 comments:
I listened to the programme and thought you came out of it far better than Caroline. Your comment after being asked about your being "Euro sceptic" were excellent.
Caroline Jackson is appalling, I don't mind Europhiles normally and think the likes of Ken Clarke and Michael Heseltine are great. Jackson on the other hand just radiates nastiness and arrogance of the Brussels bureaucracy. She's the Tory equivalent of Keith Vaz.
Chris Huhne has just signed his death warrant in Eastleigh at the next election:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7652274.stm
Freedom of speech is one thing, crass stupidity is another. Chris has just kissed goodbye to any tactical voting from Labour voters by saying this.
There are certain reasons why Germany banned this sort of thing, indeed it was the several Millions processed and killed, the infurstructure of which remains as testiment to the suffering and geniside that went on. Hunhe has taken ideological views a step too far by interjecting upon this.
I am half tempted to post this on Politicalbetting.com but given the pompus LD's that seem to run it/ post it - they would dismiss it as not counting somehow.
Huhne is doomed - DOOMED at the next election - this is another reason to turf the LD's out.
This is the same Caroline Jackson whose husband publically joined the Labour Party is it not.
If opposing membership of the EU was a criteria for explusion, at least one quarter to one third of party membership would have to go while the bulk of the remainder would be on a warning. A sort of ASBO for being slightly euro-sceptic.
The damage was always done to the party by those who whole heartedly supported the EU such as Mme.Jackson
Huhne has shown some backbone. It is absurd that we are considering extradition for someone who simplym expressed his views, no matter how evil or stupid. Amnesty International should be on this too.
Hope you didn't mention her ever loyal husband.
ross-never a truer word spoken!
The jacksons-what a pair.
Well Law is Law, Huhne does himself no favours with this. Presumbably he has no problem with Irvine either. I would have thought Huhne being a Euro-federalist and former MEP would be very much for ensuring the law is executed and Britain plays its part.
Did robert Jackson ever get a peerage out of jumping party?
You can have a problem with someone's views without wanting them locked up. I swear, this country gets more stupid by the day.
It appears I agree with Iain Dale about Europe AND the EU.
Right, shhhhhh. Don't mention the war..
verity - you are right in what you but Germany has special laws! The is a Axxx. I was commenting more on the huhne GE implications with labour voters!
Caroline Jackson is not standing in the European elections next year. I thought that she would have been in wind-down mode. In my part of the South West she is not highly rated
Huhne is right on this (although it pains me to admit that the Lib Dums are correct about anything). It doesn't matter if this guy is offensive, we shouldn't be extraditing over freedom of speech issues. The CPS shouldn't be arguing that it is duty bound to comply with the extradition, it should be arguing that the law should be changed.
The conclusion of the Radio 4 discussion seemed to be that Cameron and Hague need to be giving serious thought as to what to after a UK referendum on Lisbon. Jackson favours the type of behind-the-scenes stitch-up that has given the EU such a poor image already, i.e. to re-package parts of the EU Constitution / Lisbon treaty in a yet another renamed ‘Treaty for an enlarged Europe’. That approach should be rejected in favour of a clear renegotiation of power back to Westminster locked in with a referendum. This should be accompanied by UK Constitutional change to prevent any future Labour government unpicking this new renegotiation without the consent of the people in referendum.
Cameron and Hague should be doing the things necessary to achieve a successful renegotiation, i.e. identifying our goals, negotiating levers and a fallback position should our partners not negotiate in good faith. The goal should be UK participation and voting rights on common market legislation but opting out of all parts of political union. The levers we have are considerable, including the huge British financial contribution to the EU budget, the possibility of Westminster-style filibuster of whatever other measures are being made in the EU by countries obstructing the renegotiation of the UK-EU relationship, and (should Lisbon be dead) use of the British veto over any new institutional arrangements that do not meet our re-negotiating goals. The fallback position in case negotiations fail should be for the UK to leave the EU, join EFTA and negotiate transatlantic free trade.
I recall writing to Mme Jackson when I lived in the West Country asking for assistance in an EU matter. I never heard back from her. She seems to be competing with Monsieur le Baron Christophe Petain to be the most europhiliac of Conservatives. It is she who should be expelled for trying, so consistently, to sell us down the river to Brussels
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