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EU politics: how to lose a referendum
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"Very courageous", says Sir Humprey, words calculated to strike terror into the heart of any minister or prime minister. Roughly translated, they mean: "this will lose you the election". Instead of watching Yes Minister, however, Hannan has been reading "Biggles does Churchill", calling up the spirit of the Great Man standing on the White Cliffs of Dover, shaking his fist at the Hun. But this is not 1940, we're not at war (yet), and Mr Cameron certainly isn't Winston Churchill. To strike a defiant pose and declare, "If necessary, we will stand alone in Europe", as Hannan would have him do, is not only preposterous but wrong. View full article here
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Quote:The sunlit uplands of the wider world and its trade liberalisation beckon us. I get the distinct impression that anyone above-the-line portraying our 'de-coupling' as anything other than the above does not want an independent UK, and thus by inference is either pro-EU, ignorant or dishonest.
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It seems that the europhiles are merrily running both the In campaign and the Out campaign.
The latter, they will deliberately drive into the ditch, as Mr Hannan's contribution demonstrates.
Fostering the illusion of choice is a trick long since honed in General Elections. |
Please hold: your call is important to us. |
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We should have learnt how important language is in moulding the political debate. Cultural Marxists have changed our society by classifying “correct” and “incorrect” words ,we must not allow the pro-Federalists to do the same with the debate on our future relationship with the EU.This is going to be very difficult as can be seen by the phrases used to describe our trading relationship:”biggest market...” etc. I can’t understand why Cameron did not kick this down the road by announcing a Cost-Benefit analyses---unless one exists in the Treasury and is not favourable to continued membership.
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Originally Posted by: James102  I can’t understand why Cameron did not kick this down the road by announcing a Cost-Benefit analyses---unless one exists in the Treasury and is not favourable to continued membership.
I thought that was what Hague was supposed to be doing.
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Originally Posted by: Shakassoc  Originally Posted by: James102  I can’t understand why Cameron did not kick this down the road by announcing a Cost-Benefit analyses---unless one exists in the Treasury and is not favourable to continued membership.
I thought that was what Hague was supposed to be doing. Well, that is in part what the Competence audit is supposed to be. But it hardly needs kicking down the road ... fortunately any referendum is going to be five years away. By that time, the europhiles will have shot their bolt and, with a bit of luck, we might just have got our act together.
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If. Britain does somehow and by some miracle - ever manages to secede from this ruinous hotchpotch, a combination of control freakish micromanagement and a kleptocracy devised by financial illiterates, propped up by British taxpayers......now known to us all as, the EU.
What 'they' really worry about, maddeningly [for us] but which exercises those erudite geniuses such as; Branson, Mandelson, Heseltine, Clegg, Obama, Bilderbergers, uncle Tom Cobley - in Westminster. So, all of these 'gentlemen' and ladies too, that advocate that Britain as they say, "must remain part of" the Brussels' satrapy are fixated upon securing Britain's participation in the money making machine [mass taxpayer fraud fund] - big Brother = the EU. If Britain unchains itself, then the whole crumbling rotten edifice will collapse entirely - kaput, gone, abolesco. End of easy money, oligarchs, cartels, low [no] tax regimes and strait jacketed consumers and taxpayers. Out, would go all the easy sinecures, fat pensions for doing nowt and a life of living off other people's backs - gone forever.
That is their main worry.
Aside - That's why we have to do it - softee, softee, gradually - otherwise we won't be allowed to leave and observing the way it is going: I doubt that we ever will secede.
Isolation, sounds splendid but it won't sell to the lumpen proletariat - though it appeals mightily - for me. If, China and Russia do not give a flying ****, then why should we?
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Quote:I can’t understand why Cameron did not kick this down the road by announcing a Cost-Benefit analyses---unless one exists in the Treasury and is not favourable to continued membership. If it was an honest one, then the results would be horrific, there is no way it would ever see the light of day. All we are getting so far is more lies, which is very good news for our side.
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I agree the words used are very important and as The Freedom Association(TFA) has been saying for years 'We are better off out' and we have NOTHING to fear from leaving the corrupt EU and joining in with the rest of the world in our own right.
As TFA points out in their latest pamphlet ' Membership of the EU - there are alternatives' Australia,Canada,Norway and Switzerland are all doing just fine and none of them are in the EU. All 4 countries have negotiated individual agreements with the EU and happily trade with it but have none of the membership costs or restrictions that membership of the EU brings.
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Originally Posted by: richard  ... fortunately any referendum is going to be five years away. By that time, the europhiles will have shot their bolt and, with a bit of luck, we might just have got our act together.
For that reason, I don't see much harm in the playing up for a referendum.
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Niall: Quote:"As TFA points out in their latest pamphlet ' Membership of the EU - there are alternatives' Australia,Canada,Norway and Switzerland are all doing just fine and none of them are in the EU. All 4 countries have negotiated individual agreements with the EU and happily trade with it but have none of the membership costs or restrictions that membership of the EU brings." Fully agree. So in theory therefore, legally and practically, there would be nothing to prevent a future UK government, no matter how distant the prospect for the sake of argument, declaring a UDI, repealing the EC Act, and entering into a number of bi-lateral trading arrangements with countries all over the world, including the rising markets of the far East, Oz, NZ and others? That of course does not rule out a 'new relationship' with the EU in due course - with what is left of it after the bruising Eurozone crisis finally is resolved. Nothing is set in concrete !
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The "Little Europe" message (I think that is called a meme on the interweb) is completely brilliant. It is that sort of idea that can get the message across without boring the average person to sleep with detail, as well as reinforcing the debate for those who can digest the complexity. When someone refers to "Europe" why not ask them "the 27 or the 47?"
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Originally Posted by: Bob Fox 
When someone refers to "Europe" why not ask them "the 27 or the 47?"
 yay!!!!
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Cameron speech set to be delayed again apparently
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Originally Posted by: TheBoilingFrog  Cameron speech set to be delayed again apparently
??? David Cameron to press ahead with long-awaited speech in Amsterdam despite Algerian hostage crisis involving British citizens http://www.dailymail.co....oost-eve-Big-Speech.html
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Originally Posted by: richard  Originally Posted by: TheBoilingFrog  Cameron speech set to be delayed again apparently
??? David Cameron to press ahead with long-awaited speech in Amsterdam despite Algerian hostage crisis involving British citizens http://www.dailymail.co....oost-eve-Big-Speech.html Ah right, received updates on my phone at the time that he was due to delay speech... Quote:Poll shows 50% would vote to stay in EU if he can get a better deal Oh dear...
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I'm first with the news me Quote: Cameron and Europe: PM postpones long-awaited speech on EU strategy
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-21064114
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Originally Posted by: TheBoilingFrog  "$*&**!!! **!!£"*!
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Originally Posted by: TheBoilingFrog  Quote:Poll shows 50% would vote to stay in EU if he can get a better deal Oh dear... We've always known that eurosceptic sentiment is soft for various reasons, and the reform option is superficially attractive. This has always been something the Tories have played on. The poll doesn't go into how good the better deal would have to be, but as we saw with the 1975 referendum, nearly nothing can be made to go a long way. I've always been of the view that the next election is lost for the Tories and they know it, and they are trying to fend the issue off until the GE, and do just enough to keep enough support not to suffer a catastrophic defeat. Should they win, they plan on doing a Wilson by presenting a fig leaf as a Saville Row suit. A little snag is that people aren't drifting away from the Tories just because of their stance on the EU. As for the timing of the speech and the delays, it's a minor disaster. That alone doesn't give the impression of a clear thinking leader expressing a view of the future which will be compelling; it's more like a schoolboy having an unavoidable interview with the headmaster which is likely to result in a caning and finding all sorts of reasons to avoid it.
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Originally Posted by: TheBoilingFrog  Is this where we all shriek at him like Prime Minister Maggie Thatcher hand-bagging Kinnock. "Frit...! Frit!!"
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