First I should declare an interest. I know that this is a novel approach among political commentators but I must.
I believe that Britain would be better off out of the European Union.
That said, all of the talk about the so called extra money that Britain will have to contribute is pure political posturing.
All of the UK politicians know that the system by which the extra contribution is calculated is one to which they all agreed. It is, if you like, a rule of the club. It is the same rule that gave Britain a reduction in contributions back in 2008, when our economy was very poorly (that was during the last Labour government, in case you had forgotten!).
Is the system crazy? Most people would say that any system, that in times like this demands extra funds from the UK, has to be flawed. When you couple that with the same system also seeking further contributions from ailing Italy and a near-dead Greece, then you can see the point. When that same system then takes some of that money and passes it to the EU economic powerhouse that is Germany, it would indeed seem like the lunatics have taken over the asylum. Layer onto that the spectacle of France also getting a rebate, when they are very much the masters of their own economic malaise and you have the 'icing on the cake'!
However, as said earlier, this is the system to which all of these countries, signed-up. So, despite the posturing - and that is exactly what it is - by David Cameron, the UK should pay.
The argument therefore shouldn't be about the size and value of the contribution. The discussion should be on what the bloated EU does with the funds it receives (other than rebate some member states).
The EU budget is too high and the EU bureaucracy is far too large and not fit for purpose. That refers to the EU Commission, the European 'parliament' and all of the other EU organisations. My earlier declared opposition to the EU stems from the fact that the 'club' has morphed into something for which many Britons did not vote. The 1975 referendum was about the so called 'Common Market' - the establishment of a free market where goods and services and yes, people, could move freely. That's it. No talk of EU working time directives, straight bananas and ceding of UK fishing grounds. No fat bureaucracy seeking to supplant sovereign governments. No aim to bring in, as member states, many new countries with little or no history of democracy and large numbers of low paid workers. No acceptance that year after year the 'club's' accounts would fail to be approved by auditors.
So David Cameron and the so far silent, Ed Miliband and the over-noisy Nigel Farage, should be focusing not on Britain 'welshing' on an agreed rule of membership but on getting the people of the UK a referendum on membership of the EU 'club' and on getting the EU budget under control.
These are the key issues around the EU. Britain's continued membership and, if it is decided to remain a member, how to remove the democratic deficit at the heart of the club and to make it work for the people of Europe.
In all of this, we know where David Cameron and the Conservatives Party stand - kind of! We know that they are in favour of an In/Out referendum - but not until 2017 - and we know that they favour reform of the EU budget and of finding ways to stem the flood of economic immigrants that continue to come to Britain.
We also know that UKIP wants a very early referendum. They are not talking about next week but one coinciding with the May 2015 General Election wouldn't go amiss. They too want to tear-up the rule book as regards the free movement of people - otherwise known as immigration! - but they want to do this from outside the EU.
The Lib Dems? Well the EU has always afforded them a stage on which they are magnified, where their closet socialist ideas can be cloaked in 'communitaire' terms and made to seem less extreme.
The question though, is where do the Labour Party stand? They haven't said yes or no, to a referendum, that is. Their spokesman yesterday, simply refused to say whether or not Labour would pay the extra contribution but really that is a sideshow. To me it is clear that Labour would never now offer a referendum on EU membership. They won't say so and they hedge their bets but to come out and say that they will deny the British people a say on the matter would cost them dearly, in terms of lost votes.
The large-scale immigration that Britain has seen, attacks the Labour heartlands and core vote. If these people can be bothered to vote see here , then they would compound their desertion of Labour by actively transferring their votes to UKIP which more overtly addresses the issue that they see as important.
So don't expect Labour to come out in favour of a referendum. Any party that can get the UK into such an awful economic state, leave a note to the incoming Chancellor saying ' there's no money left' and then, just a couple of years later claim to have any shred of economic competence is such a stranger to honesty and the truth that one can only conclude these words have been removed from their Labour versions of the dictionary!
Just as Labour is dishonest on the economy - they know that the only way their economic pledges can be paid for is to raise general taxation - general as in hitting most of the working population and not just the so called millionaires - so they display rank dishonesty on the subject of the EU. I would have more respect for Labour if they came out and said ' We support the EU because it reflects our long-held core belief that appointed elites are much better at managing things like countries and communities, than the people themselves. We believe that nationhood, however long established, has no place in the modern world. We believe that democracy has run its course and now is the time for educated technocrats to steer the countries of the EU, through these troubled times' Of course though, they won't!
So to David Cameron and George Osborne, my message is clear. Pay the money that we owe. That is the British way - we don't cheat or walk away from our debts. Turn it though into a positive by re-opening the debate about the EU budget. Also expose Labour relentlessly, for their avoidance of a stated policy on Britain's continued membership of the EU. Spike UKIP's guns by bringing forward the In/Out referendum or at least try to do so - this might even have the advantage of flushing out Labour!
My message to Nigel Farage is this. You might see this as a God sent gift and a great aid to your Rochester and Strood by-election hopes but put aside party political thoughts, for a moment and consider the timing of this story. Who benefits? Most probably, UKIP. Who loses? Most probably the Conservatives. However, in the bigger picture, the big winners are the EU bureaucracy and the Labour Party. Have a care that you don't let a short term advantage blind you to the realities of EU politics.
I believe that Britain would be better off out of the European Union.
That said, all of the talk about the so called extra money that Britain will have to contribute is pure political posturing.
All of the UK politicians know that the system by which the extra contribution is calculated is one to which they all agreed. It is, if you like, a rule of the club. It is the same rule that gave Britain a reduction in contributions back in 2008, when our economy was very poorly (that was during the last Labour government, in case you had forgotten!).
Is the system crazy? Most people would say that any system, that in times like this demands extra funds from the UK, has to be flawed. When you couple that with the same system also seeking further contributions from ailing Italy and a near-dead Greece, then you can see the point. When that same system then takes some of that money and passes it to the EU economic powerhouse that is Germany, it would indeed seem like the lunatics have taken over the asylum. Layer onto that the spectacle of France also getting a rebate, when they are very much the masters of their own economic malaise and you have the 'icing on the cake'!
However, as said earlier, this is the system to which all of these countries, signed-up. So, despite the posturing - and that is exactly what it is - by David Cameron, the UK should pay.
The argument therefore shouldn't be about the size and value of the contribution. The discussion should be on what the bloated EU does with the funds it receives (other than rebate some member states).
The EU budget is too high and the EU bureaucracy is far too large and not fit for purpose. That refers to the EU Commission, the European 'parliament' and all of the other EU organisations. My earlier declared opposition to the EU stems from the fact that the 'club' has morphed into something for which many Britons did not vote. The 1975 referendum was about the so called 'Common Market' - the establishment of a free market where goods and services and yes, people, could move freely. That's it. No talk of EU working time directives, straight bananas and ceding of UK fishing grounds. No fat bureaucracy seeking to supplant sovereign governments. No aim to bring in, as member states, many new countries with little or no history of democracy and large numbers of low paid workers. No acceptance that year after year the 'club's' accounts would fail to be approved by auditors.
So David Cameron and the so far silent, Ed Miliband and the over-noisy Nigel Farage, should be focusing not on Britain 'welshing' on an agreed rule of membership but on getting the people of the UK a referendum on membership of the EU 'club' and on getting the EU budget under control.
These are the key issues around the EU. Britain's continued membership and, if it is decided to remain a member, how to remove the democratic deficit at the heart of the club and to make it work for the people of Europe.
In all of this, we know where David Cameron and the Conservatives Party stand - kind of! We know that they are in favour of an In/Out referendum - but not until 2017 - and we know that they favour reform of the EU budget and of finding ways to stem the flood of economic immigrants that continue to come to Britain.
We also know that UKIP wants a very early referendum. They are not talking about next week but one coinciding with the May 2015 General Election wouldn't go amiss. They too want to tear-up the rule book as regards the free movement of people - otherwise known as immigration! - but they want to do this from outside the EU.
The Lib Dems? Well the EU has always afforded them a stage on which they are magnified, where their closet socialist ideas can be cloaked in 'communitaire' terms and made to seem less extreme.
The question though, is where do the Labour Party stand? They haven't said yes or no, to a referendum, that is. Their spokesman yesterday, simply refused to say whether or not Labour would pay the extra contribution but really that is a sideshow. To me it is clear that Labour would never now offer a referendum on EU membership. They won't say so and they hedge their bets but to come out and say that they will deny the British people a say on the matter would cost them dearly, in terms of lost votes.
The large-scale immigration that Britain has seen, attacks the Labour heartlands and core vote. If these people can be bothered to vote see here , then they would compound their desertion of Labour by actively transferring their votes to UKIP which more overtly addresses the issue that they see as important.
So don't expect Labour to come out in favour of a referendum. Any party that can get the UK into such an awful economic state, leave a note to the incoming Chancellor saying ' there's no money left' and then, just a couple of years later claim to have any shred of economic competence is such a stranger to honesty and the truth that one can only conclude these words have been removed from their Labour versions of the dictionary!
Just as Labour is dishonest on the economy - they know that the only way their economic pledges can be paid for is to raise general taxation - general as in hitting most of the working population and not just the so called millionaires - so they display rank dishonesty on the subject of the EU. I would have more respect for Labour if they came out and said ' We support the EU because it reflects our long-held core belief that appointed elites are much better at managing things like countries and communities, than the people themselves. We believe that nationhood, however long established, has no place in the modern world. We believe that democracy has run its course and now is the time for educated technocrats to steer the countries of the EU, through these troubled times' Of course though, they won't!
So to David Cameron and George Osborne, my message is clear. Pay the money that we owe. That is the British way - we don't cheat or walk away from our debts. Turn it though into a positive by re-opening the debate about the EU budget. Also expose Labour relentlessly, for their avoidance of a stated policy on Britain's continued membership of the EU. Spike UKIP's guns by bringing forward the In/Out referendum or at least try to do so - this might even have the advantage of flushing out Labour!
My message to Nigel Farage is this. You might see this as a God sent gift and a great aid to your Rochester and Strood by-election hopes but put aside party political thoughts, for a moment and consider the timing of this story. Who benefits? Most probably, UKIP. Who loses? Most probably the Conservatives. However, in the bigger picture, the big winners are the EU bureaucracy and the Labour Party. Have a care that you don't let a short term advantage blind you to the realities of EU politics.
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