:: Conservative Revival ::

:: Tuesday, November 12, 2002 ::

The dreaded E word
I know that we're all supposed to change the subject when the matter of Europe comes up, but there are occasions when it just has to be dealt with. The forthcoming EU constitution is not going to be pleasant, and if we aren't careful we aren't going to be able to stop it. The only way it can be stopped is if Blair is forced to promise to hold a referendum on it like he has with the Euro - that way it will either be voted down or he will be too scared to actually go to the public with the question. I think the only way we are going to get him to promise that is if we start asking questions now. Just matter of fact, non-frothing questions like:

"Will the government promise that if / when an EU treaty establishes an EU Constitution the matter will be put to the people in a referendum?"

If we keep returning to this topic at appropriate points and start to establish a head of steam behind it, we might be able to "persuade" Blair to agree. This needs to be established policy well in advance of the next Euro-elections. If this doesn't happen, then the Blair will return from the meeting of the European Council at which this is agreed, and ram it through parliament (probably saying something like "we called for the EU to draw up a constitution and here it is") at which point, whether we are in the Euro or not becomes pretty much irrelevant.
:: j 11/12/2002 02:18:00 PM [+] ::
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Fight fire with fire
I keep forgetting to post my Tory-centred thoughts from The Edge here. Anyway, here's an example:

Public safety alert as firefighters decide to strike is the Tories' wet reply to the fire brigades' strike. Not a mention of the fact that the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is not allowing the troops who are deputising for the striking firemen to use the fire brigades' equipment, as that would involve crossing picket lines. News for you, John, no-one in the public remembers the 1926 general strike anymore. This is not "echoes of strike-busting" or anything like that.

Anyway, here is what I would say in David Davis' shoes:

"The government calls these strikes Scargillite. Well, we knew exactly how to deal with Arthur Scargill. We put the good of the country first instead of trying to appease the Labour Party's financial backers in the unions. We faced up to the threat head on and broke the power of the people the Prime Minister has called wreckers. But it looks like the DPM doesn't have the courage to face down these people, even with the threat of innocent lives being lost. At the very least, I call on the Deputy Prime Minister to give up his archaic, doctrinaire, Scargillite view that you can't cross picket lines and allow our troops to use the modern equipment of the fire brigades. If he refuses to allow this, I say that every life that is lost to fire while this strike goes on is on his hands. I hope the relatives of the victims will forgive him, because I won't, and nor will anyone on these benches."

Go on, put the boot in, David.
:: Swordsman 11/12/2002 12:17:00 PM [+] ::
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