If we take Mr Cameron's Wednesday speech as "Day One" of a four-year referendum campaign, then we are now on day four. And already the legacy media are running out of steam, finding it hard to offer anything of very great interest or originality.

That is not to say that the idea of having an EU referendum some time in the future is devoid of interest – very far from it. But the media, which has always struggled to write intelligently on the European Union, lacks the depth to be able to analyse the issues and come up with anything helpful to its readers.

The Daily Mail, for instance, offers a laborious piece from Dominic Sandbrook, drawing parallels between these current events and the 1975 referendum.

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That's a fair inference. But it also points out that the EP (European Parliament) is a major player, which people tend to forget.

Yes, Comet I agree.. In order to stay in office - and at least on the EU front in the light of his new policy, he is going to be hard put to please "all of the people all of the time" - especially his own back-benchers. He now has to deliver something!

There is a delicious irony in all this - in that he now is forced by his own policy to get a "good deal" from the EU (which we all know is not remotely possible) and between now and the next GE, work hard to that end. However, since he wants to stay IN, it makes it very difficult for him to spend time and energy contesting for UK concessions in any realistic way.

Its called 'making your own bed, and then lying on it!

Yet, if he wishes to avoid the Tory Party fracturing even more, then he has to give the impression he will try really hard.
At the end of the day, he will have maybe, some superficial token concessionss, worth zilch.
How will he then campaign before the election?
Labour, even sections of the the MSM, and the Blogs will hound him unmercifully. Tough titty.

Since 1993, like Mr. Farage and many others, I have riled against the anti-democratic EU. It has cost me bags of gold and sore feet (plus the loss of a fingertip to a dog that objected to my leaflet through its letterbox).
There have been superb intellects like Christopher Booker and Dr. Richard, plus practical opponents of the EU like Trevor Colman MEP, who have dissected the arguments of the pro-EU brigade and brought the subject to the public.
And still the EU marches on - because the "elite" currently meeting in Davos want it to succeed. They have had the Prime Ministers of UK in the palm of their hand since the USA & the USSR supported the British defence against German, Japanese & Italian aggression and loaned us their money.

What has all our efforts against the EU achieved - saving the currency temporarily because the money men thought it was in their interests. Politically we have barely dented the battleship EUROPA with UKIP and lesser groups because the political system takes a dynasty to fall.

We are like the condemned man fighting our fate at every legal stage but they have already tied our hands and put us on the scaffold with the noose around our necks. The executioner and his assistants are those that we trusted to govern us. Like the Jews voting for Hitler in the 1930's. But where is our saviour ?

On the subject of dynasties this Muslim doctrine may give some comfort -

Dynasties have a natural life span like individuals.

The same is the case with the life (span) of dynasties. Their durations may differ according to the conjunctions. However, as a rule no dynasty lasts beyond the life (span) of three generations. A generation is identical with the average duration of the life of a single individual, namely, forty years.

Only another 120 minus 40 (1973 to 2013) years to go before the EU falls !

My two pennorth, for what it's worth, I offer not a solution but an observation.
The whole thing, and that includes the eu, the UK government, the UN, the IPCC and probably any regulatory entity you can think of.
It's the town, city or indeed national traffic planner analogy, if they got it right they would render themselves unemployed, because they remain in situ they have to justify by doing and there's no doubt about it they do get to the zenith stage at which point they should move on, but they don't do they, they continue to navigate down the slope to justify thier continued existance, how many words are there in the eu cabbage legislation, 26,911 words, I'm sure they started out with the required 4, edible and not poisonous. Leave them in situ as we have they have managed to increase the word count by some 29,907 words and FFS this is only caggage, can you imagine the potential of something important.
Disregarding my opening gambit let's start with cabbage, return to the four word solution and recognise that the greater point of regulation is not that we we need it but that we have contraced out the responsibility to people who say because we can and to ensure our continuance we will. A simple start " the cabbage"

Edited by user 26 January 2013 18:29:08(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Harold Wilson kept the tax on pipe tobacco down, at today's prices that saves me £10 a week!