The corruption at the heart of Cameron's Remain campaign

As well as the utter dishonesty of Cameron's various renegotiation positions on the EU we are now getting treated to the abuse of power.

The 9 million pounds on extremist Remain propaganda issued at the expense of the taxpayer was terrible and deeply shameful.

The social media spend to cheat by adding extra spending to the remain campaign, again tax payer funded was also deeply disgraceful.

But now a Conservative MP is accusing Cameron of pulling manifesto legislation to earn favour with the Unions that they are paying back with cash for the Labour Remain Campaign.

See Guido's report here...



Of course the #BBC is avoiding this issue ...

Conservatives urged to vote UKIP

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/ukip/11581655/Vote-Ukip-where-Tories-cant-win-oldest-Conservative-think-tank-says.html

Of course you can hear the panic at CCHQ towers. IDS is being dragged out to sound all scary - but here's the thing if the Conservatives actually mean what they say about a EU referendum then they have nothing to fear from UKIP. Indeed Cameron could have had a agreement before the election - he was offered one.

But of course many of us realise that Cameron is just offering another Cast Iron Guarantee ....

So the Conservatives are Scottish (&Welsh) Nationalists but not English Nationalists right ?

Cameron is getting desperate. As evidence you should see the hastily cobbled together English Manifesto launched today.

In short its just an attempt to fool UKIP voters into thinking that #CastIronDave can be trusted, despite all the betrayals of the last 5 years.

But there is also the hypocrisy of the Conservative position. As the James Kirkup in the Daily Telegraph says "David Cameron is today adamant that the Tories are not English nationalists and will never back an English parliament."

Right - but the Conservatives do back the Scottish and soon to be renamed Welsh Parliaments ....

So by the same logic they must be Scottish Nationalists ( don't tell the SNP ).

So in trying to appeal to English voters the Conservatives have yet again insulted our country and our patriotic identity.

I guess we should be grateful that some ground has been ceded - but the depth of the hypocrisy is just staggering.

In truth this is David Cameron's Emily Thornberry English flag tweet moment - only the conspiracy against England amongst the fourth estate will prevent the damage.

Just remember this is yet another example of who and what Cameron and those who support him in the Conservative leadership really are.

They can never be trusted again.

The retreat from freedom

I had meant to put a post about the new measures against "extremism" announced by Conservative leadership candidate home secretary Theresa May a few days ago.

In what sounds like the measures used against the IRA's cheerleaders in the 80s there are to be all sorts of arbitrary bans on extremist preachers ( by which they mean - to start with - Islamic preachers ). That just made the government of the day look stupid as the measures were easily circumvented.

I think its worth just noting what this is a retreat from.

It means that we are abandoning debate and the battle of ideas to reply instead on measures that the Chinese Communists or East Germans would have approved of.

We no longer hold freedom as our ideal, but something sinister called British Values.

Also we have created a system which will allow, just by adding a few words to the home secretary's British Value list, the arbitrary oppression of whole classes of people.

If you see the style of no-platform debate used by the left in Universities these days you'll realise how our future politicians will use these powers.

The Conservatives have created the instruments for our own oppression - and just for short term political gain.

There is a lack of courage and vision in those grabbing at the purple of Conservative party leadership as freedom lies bleeding out into the sand.

England - betrayed by David Cameron and the Conservatives

Today David Cameron - he of the vow to save his career which has resulted in today's independence sometime latter legislation - is up in Scotland.

There will be more "powers" for the busy body assembly in Edinburgh. "Scotland" wants more powers, but to keep the <s>ability to bleed the English dry<\s> security of the United Kingdom.

In short they have al;ready mentally ceased to think of themselves or talk about themselves as British.

Labour's break up of the UK is all around us. In Scotland every agency you can think of has the word Scotland before it. Charities emphasis that the money the raise will be spend on Scots ( yes even the poppy campaign - how dirty nasty and selfish is that ! ). I had a Christmas card from a charity based in Wales - who's strap line was all the money spent in Wales.

The English by contrast have been happy to see money spent according to need - indeed through the spectacular generosity of the Barnett formula they have hose money North of the border and are rewarded with Luddite socialism by the SNP/Labour/Scots Lib Dems.

When hasn't spoken yet - but we better not leave it too late. We are being taken as fools... by Cameron and the Conservatives.

Devolution is a one way street and Scotland's Tories are pressing on the accelerator

Its true that having spending power without responsibility for raising the money is a recipe for left wing adolescent ( the Scottish and Welsh devolution experiments prove this point overwhelmingly ).

But it is also a political fact of life that devolution is the road to separation. The more devolution you have ( the more 'powers') the less of a Union you have. Like the European Union - powers only ever transfer in one direction.

Between the EU and the anti-English devolution settlement created by Blair and the deeply sectarian anti-English Labour party to slowly but surely dissolve the UK whilst preventing England ever having national political identity.

Who knows if the Scottish Tories had this sacrifice more of the Union for votes idea themselves or were told to read it out to help David Cameron and George Osborne's political careers last a little longer. What we can be sure of is that no one who cares about the UK was involved in the process.

Let us not forget that Tax varying powers already exist in the devolved powers. They haven't been used for two good reasons;

1) it would be hellishly difficult and expensive to administer;
2) given that Scotland receives extra bribe money from English tax payers by way of spending that's denied people of equal need in the English part of the United kingdom how would anyone tell if Scotland was really paying for more Socialist failure schemes or just bleeding the needy of England a little bit more ?

This is just another bodge on the road to separation by a political party that once campaigned to save the Union.

All the Conservative party seems to be about these days is a few individuals with a high sense of entitlement's political careers.

PS If you don't believe me just look at the spin that's already been put out to argue that Cameron shouldn't have to resign if he loses Scotland ...

When should Cameron resign over Euro-Elections ?

Cameron doesn't plan to deliver on the EU

The First Post reports:

"the prime minister has privately vowed to not give an inch on Europe, even if his party is humiliated at the European polls."

Of course they could have the story wrong here - but it seems to me that the Conservtaives are not being entiorely straight about Mr Cameron's intentions with regard to the EU.

You really can't trust Cast Iron Dave.

If you want your country back then UKIP is the only  way to vote in May.

Closing down debate using the R word is a desperate move by the Conservatives

Today the Conservative party went into full headless chicken mode and rolled Jeremy Hunt out to use the Racism attack against UKIP.

This is a low form of politics since:

1. It aims to close down debate, and not to win it.
2. Its a smear, which is most effective for the person who first reaches for the mud ( normally ).
3. See the pictures below - which political party / govt produced these ? The charge is hypocrisy.
4. You legitimise this tactic to close down debate in the future and damage democracy as a result.

Of course the Conservatives think it will be effective in intimating people at the ballot box. 

There was a time when the Conservative party stood for principled debate, indeed it was a time that the Conservative party was confident in its own arguments and position to welcome a full and extensive debate - as it had the courage of its convictions and expected to be judged the winner of that debate by the jury of the British electorate.

No more. Today the tactics of Blair have been officially adopted.

There is one problem though, what the interns at CCHQ forget is that it wasn't the message in 2005 that was unpopular ( indeed polling showed it was very popular ) - it was the Conservative party.

That's even more their problem today, and its a position they have bought on themselves by unprincipled mud slinging that has been on show from their friends in the media and today by the Conservative party itself.

Conservatives 2005 campaign poster ( vandalised )

Home office campaign

If UKIP beat the Conservatives in Eastleigh then ..

surely Cameron is finished ?

Not much of a swing required from this weekend's polls.



Conservatives - lend your vote to UKIP and get Cameron out !

( The poll above was reported in the Times - apparently as they are of course beyond the payl ).

Update:

The Daily Mail - that is running desperately hard to see UKIP off has a poll that coincidentally put the Conservatives in the lead. This is *very* convenient for the Conservative campaign as it will put those who would vote UKIP to get Cameron removed under pressure. A little bit too convenient in my view.

Here's the thing - if you live in Eastleigh - you're not voting for a government.

Almost any of the major candidates would function as a parliemnetary representative.

But you can vote to get Cameron out - and there only one way to do it - vote UKIP.

If you vote Labour - then your wasting your time.

If you vote Lib Dem - the Cameron survives.

If you vote Conservtaive - the the modernisers win and the man whio attacked marriage survives.

Only voting UKIP will get the job done.

14% is a real achievement for UKIP

UKIP seem to have achieved another growth in our voting base with media reports giving a 14% support where candidates stood.

The first past the post system means a lot of the progress is below the surface of numbers of elected representatives. But UKIP will now be changing the results of elections and the agenda set by UKIP must surely be addressed by the other parties.

Though early signs from the unelected Baroness Warsi suggest the Gadfly approach and insult are still the knee jerk response. ( That's the sort of attitude to Conservative core supporters that has helped UKIP to where it is today of course ).

From my personal perspective I'm committed to ideals, ideas and morals mostly found on the right of centre. I'm not married to the idea of any political party existing for ever. As Daniel Hannan has suggested the route for success for the right should be via  a merger between UKIP & The Conservative party, but that will mean the modernisers and wets will need to find a new home ( I hear the Lib Dems are short of self serving europhile hand ringers these days. ). But it won't happen any time soon as my guess is CCHQ will respond with bile.

My guess is we'll get a few more half baked Euro-Sausages from Cameron ( all approved as worthless scraps by Clegg et al ). They may even stall UKIP's advance for a while, but life long Conservatives like myself are getting into the habit of voting for UKIP - and a new reality will emerge from this over time.

See also Paul Nutall and the panel discussion about the rise of UKIP below and below that the ever reasonable Tim Montgomerie pointing out the danger of the short changing of the right that has lead people like me to leave the Conservatives for UKIP.






Even Guido is arguing for UKIP's agenda to be listened to and acted upon, though you need to be careful when Peter Mandelson starts suggesting a referendum on Europe as things are never straight forward with him.

Of interns and immigrants

It certainly looks like someone at CCHQ has just realised they have been taking the core vote for granted.

We've had the immigration dog whistle ( look I'm a Conservative - but its obvious what is going on here, especially as to do anything effective about it you'd need to a) Fire Vince Cable and the Lib Dems and b) be willing to actually stand up to the EU and European courts - and we all know this won't happen ).

Now David Cameron has made a virtue out of what may have been a necessary. ( Perhaps an unfriendly newspaper had the story about his getting an intern position for a neighbours child anyway ).

All this suggests to me that CCHQ may be waking up to the fact that all the talk of punishing the middle classes for their evil habit of not destroying their children's futures at the local comprehensive ( which they have already paid for ), but paying again out of taxed income to educate their children in an institution that still has some basic discipline in place, is losing the party large amounts of support.

Frankly I think they're a bit late. Maybe they've missed their moment altogether. I suspect many Conservatives will stay at home on May5th ( especially bad for the #No2AV crowd ) and yet more will vote UKIP in the privacy of the polling booth ( and if you do that why not #Yes2AV ).

Hence all the sudden rediscovering of Conservative principle we see reported in the media.

Well Conservatism isn't just for elections, its for government too, and David Cameron is running out of time and credit in which to show he understands this.

The changing terms of the debate now Labour have been defeated

Two key areas of the political debate look like they are on the move not that Labour have been removed from office - at last !

1) Debt.
Its no longer "the credit crisis" or the BBC approved Labour not at fault "downturn". The attempt by the left to say its "all the banks fault" is ongoing. But there is a realisation that Debt is the problem and that we in the west have been using it to steal from our children for at least the last decade.

Take a look at the articles in this weeks Economist that has a special report on debt ( private and public ).

A long time ago I called this as a debt crisis, but the left wing media has been desperate to stop that happening as they know where this will lead - to a change in the default ever increasing state controlled spending.

Now we have all much of the developed world taking the Conservatives approach ( you remember the one Gordon Brown used to ridicule us about at the dispatch box as being only followed by the Tories in the whole wide world ). Even the Lib Dems have finally understood the situation ( or at least those Lib Dems who have seen the books ).

2) Afghanistan.
Again this blog has been highly sceptical about the ongoing military activity in Afghanistan and more recently has come out against it. The move into Helmand was shown to be anything but the bloodless policing operation Labour sold to us.

Questions about the war have been asked for a long time. I can remember reading an Economist article about the impact of foreign military presence on the Pashtun population at least 4 years ago ( found it here - economist subscription required I'm afraid ). But its been too much trouble for the Labour to admit its potential errors, especially with the sunken cost of blood and treasure. Instead they have tried to hide behind the uniform with things like "Armed forces day" to make it hard to criticise the deployment.

The armed forces have issues warning about almost eternal deployments that its quite clear would never be politically viable - but our then Labour masters didn't want to deal with the short term consequences of admitting this. ( Easier to just let the cortèges drive through Wotten Basset every day. )

But again many Conservative leaning commentators are now questioning the war ( and calling it a war ), including the interesting character of the new MP Rory Stewart.

The current Conservative govt appears to be preparing the ground for a withdrawal, or at least a withdrawal of most of our military. The UK military and diplomatic commitment to Afghanistan has the momentum of a super tanker, but the signs are that the order to change course has been given and the rudder is now over, even if it will take time to see the results.


Both these issues are major departures from Labour's policy and key issues for our country. And these change in the balance of the debates are very much welcomed by this blogger.

Gordon Brown in the dock

OK not the trial we've most been hoping for ( Tony Blair of course ) but you get the point !

The Lib Dems have been wrong on the biggest question of the hour

Those serial chancers the Lib Dems probably thought being anti-Tory and siding with Labour on carrying running of the nations credit card for a few months was a smart move. After all it allowed them to stir endlessly and smear shamelessly.

But now, just one week before polling day, the weak point of that argument becomes clear.

Its always been known about, and it was Labour's chancellor Alistair Darling who put it best when he described the UK skating in thin ice which will suddenly give way. Once the cracks start its just a moment till your under the freezing water. No time to change your mind.

Events in Europe show how real that risk is.

Labour and the Lib Dems want to try our luck on the ice, because it offers themselves the best political returns.

The Conservatives have argued that reductions in over spending need to happen now, not next year. Like the Irish we want to set about safeguarding our country from calamity. The Lib Dems and Labour have chosen the Greek route.

David Cameron must crush Nick Clegg with this tonight. Labour is finished, but the Lib Dems could yet finish the UK with their selfish and ignorant economic policy. This is not a local council election where the traditional shameless Lib Dem stirring and opportunism can be tolerated any longer.

Vote Conservative - whilst there's still time and you've only heard the ice creek, not crack.

Europe - part 1

I've been looking for the Youtube clip below for a day or two. Yes its at our expense, but that doesn't mean its not funny. And things that are funny tend to refer to a painful truth.



I'll be back to blog on the subject latter ( when I've got some work done ).

PS For anyone who thinks I shouldn't put up stuff that pokes fun at my party - you're going to need considerably thicker skins shortly. All those left wing comedians and BBC political comedy commissioning managers (with the honourable exception of "The thick of it" team ) have almost been unemployed for 12 years - it will all change very quickly if we win office.

The United Kingdom Sovereignty Bill (2010) - solution to the Lisbon ratified issue

The BBC are repeating their 2005 line with immigration in every interview right now, except its the Lisbon Constitution ( obligatory reminder here of how Labour sold the country out and lied in their 2005 manifesto due to the cowardice of the leadership and preference for deceiving people and distorting the truth instead of holding a referendum. Lets never forget Labour were the traitors and the liars who sold their country out.)

However the what to do if the Poles and Czechs can't hold out is still a very real question. ( Though perhaps the BBC should note that it is one that would be answered in a Conservative manifesto once the election is called and unlike Labour we would stick to it ).

So here's my answer, which borrows a little from ideas I heard before from other Conservative politicians.

Her Majesty's Government (and won't it be great to hear those words again after all the years of Labour's stealth republicanism ) should bring forward a bill which will declare that UK sovereignty as invested by our sovereign in the UK Parliament can never be permanently transferred to other bodies without a referendum and then only for a period of 15 years after which such permission will need to be renewed. ( This would force a referendum on EU membership, NATO membership, maybe even the UN every 15 years ).

Shorter term agreements would only remain legally enforceable whilst the Parliament that had voted to lend the sovereignty was sitting and would expire automatically every general election.

Labour have sort to sell out out country on the sly, and no government of any political complexion should ever be allowed to use it temporary authority in such a way again.

That would make the subject of a great referendum !

Thoughts on the Euro Election results

Just a few thoughts on the Euro elections in the UK.

Conservative: A solid result in circumstances that could have tested and even reversed David Cameron's momentum with Lord Tebbit's call for protest votes. This is to a large extent by David Cameron's quick, but well thought through leadership. He acted first, he acted correctly. This is a good sign for Mr Cameron as a future PM.

UKIP: It was UKIP's night. They have achieved a remarkable result - which if it wasn't for the Greek tragedy going on in Labour and the BNP sneaking in would have been the main headlines. But this is their high water mark. They must make far better use of their Euro MEPs this time round. They must also accept that the main beneficiaries of their activities in a general election will be the uber-Federalist Lib Dems. ( Vote UKIP - get Lib Dem ).

Lib Dems: Ouch. Those results will really hurt, and delivered from their beloved PR system as well as the FPP council elections. They're only relief is that nobody has really noticed. Yes the Lib Dem vote is only slightly down, but its shifted. Shifted away from being competitive with the Conservatives to being anti-Labour. Unfortunately for the opportunist party this isn't where the opportunities lie. They must now brace themselves to lose many of their MPs to Conservatives, whilst picking up a few ones from Labour.

Labour: If they don't force Brown out today then they have everything they so richly deserve coming straight to them. They are going to be desperate. Expect lots of initiatives which are all about getting more votes for Labour ( PR, AV votes, Postal votes etc ) as unemployable Labour MPs discover that their salaries really are way over the top for people of so little talent in the outside world - once cut off from government influence.

Greens: The new home of anti_labour protest, which is going to be a real problem for the yellow party.

BNP: No real improvement in their vote ( though as a percentage its up ). They have their opportunity for more publicity, but are likely to have a number of their favourite foxes shot by the major parties over the next few years. ( For example Labour won't try to smear the Conservatives on immigration at the next election. ) My personal feeling is that they are a very nasty party, but who have an argument of sorts to put forward that represents very genuine concerns of many people that the political establishment has refused to listen to. I suspect this will change and the BNp will decline.

SNP: Another top party in Scotland moment for the SNP. They will more than fancy their chances against a UK Conservative govt. They are on track to achieve their ultimate aim of separation and so far none of the UK wide parties have an answer to them. ( Whilst Labour and Conservative policies are essentially sacrificing the English to help bribe the Scots I don't think this can change. )

Eng Dem: Patchy performance. Devolution is off the front burner. They will have to bide their time and make sure they don't succumb to getting a bad reputation from less reputable people joining their ranks. (Update: The BBC reports their vote has doubled and ios steadily increasing, so this assesment may be unfair ).

I also think it was a bad night for PR. People don't understand how the Labour vote can drop like it did and they still pick up MEPs. I also think the BNP breakthrough is going to be one of the main arguments used against PR in all its forms. PR is not necessarily Labour's get out of Jail Free card. It will encourage the BNP greatly, and help defuse the Conservatives UKIP problem is the south.

OK these are just pre-lunch ramblings - anyone got anything to add / disagree with ? Might add something to all this later ( unless Brown gets thrown out in which case this blog will switch to "Hey Hoe the Witch is Dead" mode ).

Andrew Lansley on the gaps the Govt has left in the UK's preparedness for Pandemic Flu

H/T To Con home and Playpolitical

At last our departure from the EPP looks imminent

A while ago I resolved that I wouldn't vote for the Conservative euro list if the party was still in the EPP at the time of the Euro elections.

It would be the first time in my life that I'd have voted for another party, and wasn't something I was looking forward to having to do.

But the good news is that its looking like the Conservatives will have pulled out of the EPP by the time of the June elections.

Fantastic.

See also Reuters:Conservatives confirm plan to launch new EU group