EU Referendum


Conservatives: the self-fisking manifesto


15/04/2015



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The EU needs to change, the Conservative Manifesto tells us. And it is time for the British people – not politicians – to have their say. Only the Conservative Party will deliver real change and real choice on Europe, with an in-out referendum by the end of 2017, we are promised.

Labour, we are told, failed to give us a choice on the EU. They handed over major new powers to Brussels without our consent, and gave away £7 billion of the British rebate. We, the Conservatives say, have taken action in Europe to promote your economic security. We cut the EU budget for the first time ever, saving British taxpayers £8.15 billion.

We took Britain out of Eurozone bailouts, including for Greece – the first ever return of powers from Brussels, they say. Our Prime Minister vetoed a new EU treaty that would have damaged Britain's interests. And we have pursued a bold, positive, pro-business agenda, exempting smallest businesses from red tape, promoting free trade, and pushing to extend the Single Market to new sectors, like digital.

But there is much more to do, they say. The EU is too bureaucratic and too undemocratic. It interferes too much in our daily lives, and the scale of migration triggered by new members joining in recent years has had a real impact on local communities.

"We are clear about what we want from Europe. We say: yes to the Single Market. Yes to turbocharging free trade. Yes to working together where we are stronger together than alone. Yes to a family of nation states, all part of a European Union – but whose interests, crucially, are guaranteed whether inside the Euro or out. No to 'ever closer union'".

So it goes on: "No to a constant flow of power to Brussels. No to unnecessary interference. And no, of course, to the Euro, to participation in Eurozone bail-outs or notions like a European Army".

It will be a fundamental principle of a future Conservative Government, we are told, that membership of the European Union depends on the consent of the British people – and in recent years that consent has worn wafer-thin.

That's why, after the election, they tell us they will negotiate a new settlement for Britain in Europe, and then ask us whether we want to stay in the EU on this reformed basis or leave. David Cameron has committed that he will only lead a government that offers an in-out referendum.

The Conservatives then tell us that they will hold that in-out referendum before the end of 2017 and respect the outcome. So the choice at this election is clear, they say: Labour and the Liberal Democrats won't give us a say over the EU. UKIP can't give us a say. Only the Conservative Party will deliver real change in Europe – and only the Conservatives can and will deliver an in-out referendum.

And so our potential leaders have a "plan of action". They will let us decide whether to stay in or leave the EU. They will legislate in the first session of the next Parliament for an in-out referendum to be held on Britain's membership of the EU before the end of 2017.

They will negotiate a new settlement for Britain in the EU and will then ask the British people whether they want to stay in on this basis, or leave. Crucially, they tell us, they will honour the result of the referendum, whatever the outcome.

They will, we are assured, protect Britain's economy and will protect our economy from any further integration of the Eurozone. The integration of the Eurozone has raised acute questions for non-Eurozone countries like the United Kingdom.

Then the propaganda flows, as they tell us that we benefit from the Single Market, so "we" do not want to stand in the way of the Eurozone resolving its difficulties. Indeed, given the trade between Britain and the Eurozone countries we want to see these economies returning to growth.

But, say the Conservatives, "we will not let the integration of the Eurozone jeopardise the integrity of the Single Market or in any way disadvantage the UK. We will reclaim powers from Brussels".

As always, we have the familiar litany: "We want to see powers flowing away from Brussels, not to it. We have already taken action to return around 100 powers, but we want to go further. We want national parliaments to be able to work together to block unwanted European legislation. And we want an end to our commitment to an 'ever closer union', as enshrined in the Treaty to which every EU country has to sign up".

Furthermore, they say, "we will continue to ensure that defence policy remains firmly under British national control, maintaining NATO and the transatlantic relationship as the cornerstones of our defence and security policy".

And then, they tell us they will scrap the Human Rights Act. They will scrap "Labour's Human Rights Act and introduce a British Bill of Rights which will "restore common sense to the application of human rights in the UK".

The Bill, they say, will remain faithful to the basic principles of human rights, which we signed up to in the original European Convention on Human Rights. It will protect basic rights, like the right to a fair trial, and the right to life, which are an essential part of a modern democratic society.

But it will reverse the mission creep that has meant human rights law being used for more and more purposes, and often with little regard for the rights of wider society. Among other things the Bill will stop terrorists and other serious foreign criminals who pose a threat to our society from using spurious human rights arguments to prevent deportation.

The Conservatives will, they then say, take action in Europe to make us better off. They want an EU that "helps Britain move ahead, not one that holds us back". They tell us they have already succeeded in exempting our smallest businesses from new EU regulations, and kicked-off negotiations for a massive EU trade deal with the USA, which could be worth billions of pounds to the UK economy.

They say they will build on this. They want to preserve the integrity of the Single Market, by insisting on protections for those countries that have kept their own currencies.

They want to expand the Single Market, breaking down the remaining barriers to trade and ensuring that new sectors are opened up to British firms. They want to ensure that new rules target unscrupulous behaviour in the financial services industry, while safeguarding Britain as a global centre of excellence in finance.

So, they say, they will resist EU attempts to restrict legitimate financial services activities. They will press for lower EU spending, further reform of the Common Agricultural Policy and Structural Funds, and for EU money to be focused on promoting jobs and growth.

And there you have it – the first self-fisking manifesto in history. Further comment is unnecessary.