At the risk of sounding obvious is 'dick' part of his name or a description?

No part of Cameron's or the Conservative Party's thinking involves leaving the EU and not being subject to all of its regulations. They are clearly determined it won't happen.

They've said consistently that their policy is not to leave the EU. I'm convinced they would rather not be in office than be in office and have to deal with leaving the EU. They'd rather see the Conservative Party reduced to a rump than face that. As it is, UKIP could damage them in the next GE, but it would be a very good result for UKIP if they got a couple of MPs. The ball will be safely passed to the Labour Party.

They've had to put on a Eurosceptic side show over the years and a few apparent mavericks have been part of it, but we have seen the likes of Hannan and Johnson respond to the helm and support the repatriation/reform chanting, pretty sharpish. The Conservative way of neutralising the Eurosceptic threat has been to make a few gestures to give hope, and have a few vociferous sceptics giving the idea that the party could be changed from within, hoovering up Eurosceptic sentiment and letting it run into the sand. It's worked very well.

Cameron's strategy is to keep the issue at bay until the next GE.

None of the political and administrative establishment want the UK to leave the EU. Seriously investigating an exit plan would put the idea of leaving indisputably on the agenda. Far better to continue pretending it's so obviously disastrous and nonsensical that it simply isn't worth considering.

There are risks either way.

It's certainly possible that the Article 50 route could be frustrated and made unworkable by the people executing it.

The stroke of a pen, declare ourselves out, repeal a few acts, the paperwork catches up with things, and we all live happily ever after, has huge and obvious problems.

I think a lot depends on the attempts to keep the Eurozone afloat.

The current surge in Euroscepticism is largely fueled by the mess the Eurozone is in, and the fact that there seems no easy end to it.

Richard has expalined that one of the consequences of leaving via the Treaty of Rome route is that once out all EU coutries and ports could NOT legally trade with the UK with the said country/port breaking EU rules.

Under these circumstances I can see the EU wanting to inflict as much damage as possible on us.

Torquil Dick-Erikson, I always thought he was onside but.....

Having been for a vote on the issue, not intending to vote in a General Election until we are granted one, my take is all we have to do is be vigilant and wait for the monster to destroy itself. The problem, as with the climate change issue, is too many people have well paid jobs relying on it's continuance and they are going to put up a dirty fight? We just have to be patient, it is going our way, and seize the opportunity when it comes our way?

Any chance someone could point me in the right direction (link?) with regard to an understandable (and true) explanation of the consequences (and problems) involved in (trying) repeal the European Communities Act 1972.

I ought to know being a long time reader of this site I know, but.... Can someone tell me out of the EU 27, and soon to be 28 with Serbia, how many of these countries are currently in the Eurozone, how many aren't but are obliged by treaty to be so sometime in the future. If you tell me that I can then do the math (as the Americans would say), and figure out how many other countries will be in the same boat as the UK i.e. in the EU, but not been sucked into the vortex of the Eurozone.

Thanks.[ And apologies. I should have known this, but some low level mental process ejects these things from memory ] I guess part of my question was who are the gatekeepers for continuity of our EEA membership, i.e. is this part of our EU negotiations or separate ? Having gone to wiki, the EEA is an agreement between EFTA and the EU. With the Swiss (EFTA members) opted out and having a bilateral agreement with the EU. So, if we were re-accepted to EFTA, our EEA membership would be automatic (unless we did a Switzerland). Otherwise, it would be part of our EU negotiations and we would become an additional 3rd. signatory to the EEA. ??

Edited by user 26 November 2012 15:34:55(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Originally Posted by: graham wood Go to Quoted Post
Richard, I find it hard from all that DC has affirmed again and again, that you really believe the closing para of your piece! As for his "personal aspiration" - where do you find any evidnce for this?.



Richard wrote


But to put it on a more serious note, nobody can take such nonsense as a credible policy, given the state of his party, and ongoing discussion about 'renegotiations' and a referendum cam they?
As Comet rightly infers this is just another piece of procrastinating flannel. Does anybody believe this will ever come about? I'm sure you dont!