DITCH EUROPE AND JOIN THE WORLD.

And so the European Union has given the green light to the appointment of Jean Claude Juncker as head of the something or other. The trouble with this convoluted organisation is that it has so many branches and arms that it's impossible for any ordinary person to understand who does what or what actual power any of them really have. Juncker, sadly, will have considerable power though 'Why ?' is unclear.

Cameron was absolutely right to oppose the election of Juncker to whatever post he now, or soon will, have, but his opposition was always pointless. This essentially socialist conglomeration of nations doesn't want strong-minded leadership and certainly doesn't want to be subjected to 'reform'; what it wants is more of the same destructive, protectionist policies that have served it well for the last 50 years, or so it thinks. The trouble is that the world has actually changed in that time, as has the Union, but its leaders refuse to acknowledge this.

The egregious Juncker is going to be 'top dog' because he is the leader of the "European Peoples' Party" or "EPP". Amazingly, there is no such party in any sense that ordinary electors would recognize; it is merely an amalgamation of the representatives of a number of parties from various countries, all of whom share broadly similar ambitions. Somehow Juncker, a man of little importance and from the almost mythical country called Luxemburg, has become the leader of this grouping; perhaps his rise to prominence is even due to his insignificance. Unfortunately, even an insignificant man can become significant if given a large enough hat.

Juncker is seen by almost everyone as a man who is steeped in the European Union and its past; reforming it is something that is alien to him. Even though many nations appear to share the British view that reform is essential, they still supported his election to what is, effectively, the top job. Why they did this only they can tell, but it leaves the British with a simplified problem. Do we want to be a member of this inward-looking and backward-looking club, or do we want to go out and explore the world ?

Our answer to this question over the last 500 and more years has been very simple. Let's go 'Out There !' Why should it be any different now ?

EUROPEAN COMMISSION INTERFERES ONCE MORE.

On a day when the economy of the Eurozone countries has sunk into an even bigger hole, the abomination that is the European Commission has had the temerity to give advice to the UK government supposedly aimed at helping us to achieve long term sustainable growth.

Inflation in the Eurozone has now fallen to its lowest level yet, at 0.5%, indicating that the economy is close to disaster. The European Central Bank will now be expected to try to boost growth and counter the threat of deflation, but evidence from past performance suggests it is unlikely to achieve very much. Meanwhile, The Commission has said that the UK should raise taxes on higher value properties and adjust the 'Help to Buy' scheme in order to address the recent rapid rise in house prices in the London area. They want the UK to revalue the council tax bands, something which would undoubtedly increase the tax for many homes.

While these remarks have caused a degree of anger amongst many Tory MPs, Vince Cable has actually come out of his box and agreed that we can do without the advice of the EC. He's acknowledged that there is an issue with house price inflation but added that "we don't need the EU to tell us what's going on here".

If ever there was clear evidence of the uselessness of much of what comes out of Brussels, surely this is it. While they preside over the mess of the Eurozone, they dare to tell the UK, one of the few European economies currently prospering, what to do. Bring on the referendum and let's leave this appalling, overblown, spendthrift and corrupt organisation as soon as possible.

FARAGE CLOBBERS CLEGG ; WHAT DOES IT MEAN ?

Pro-European Union Nick Clegg must be rueing his decision to enter into a debate with Anti-EU Nigel Farage after his mauling in the second meeting of the two last night.

After the first debate, opinion polls gave Farage a win on the night by around 55% to 35%; the second debate saw Farage increase his vote to close to 70% while Clegg's sank to around 30%.  Obviously, such polls are largely self-selecting and their accuracy can be debateable but the message does seem clear - Farage won by a margin.

Whether the result of this will affect anything in the world inhabited by those who actually decide things on our behalf is questionable. Sadly, Farage is the only even remotely serious political leader in this country who is in favour of a withdrawal from the EU. Clegg is 100% committed to the EU come what may, Cameron has no real intention of doing anything that would lead to us withdrawing and Miliband will do whatever he believes will get him into 10 Downing Street. While Farage may reflect the views of the a majority of the people of this country, our relationship with the EU will be decided by one or more of the other three.

The only hope is that Farage's showing in these debates will encourage many more people to vote for Ukip in the European and Council elections in May. There seems to be a good chance that Ukip will come top in the European polls and this is what is needed; last time, in 2009, Ukip came a good second in the polls with 16.5% but were still a long way behind the Conservatives with 27.7%. If Ukip can reverse these positions it would send a strong message to the main parties and leave Labour and the Liberal Democrats well behind.

In the council elections we can expect the three main parties to dominate but if Ukip can improve from their performance of last year when they gained 23% of the vote they could start to make a real impact in domestic politics by winning a significant number of seats and, even, one or two councils. Such a performance would certainly improve their chances of doing well in next year's General Election.

Nigel Farage is the only serious political figure in this country who is making progress. If the people give him the chance, he may be able to help the whole country to progress. VOTE Ukip !

CAMERON'S EU PLEDGE JUST A CON TRICK.

So David Cameron has finally made his long-awaited speech about the European Union and the UK's position in it - or out of it.

 

Members of the Conservative party seem to be very happy with his apparent committment to hold a simple 'in / out' referendum sometime in 2018, but this date really is far too distant for Cameron's words to hold much water. There are too many imponderables raised by his speech for anyone to draw any real meaning from it.

 

Will Cameron be in a position to carry out his pledge in 2018 ? Will he still be Prime Minister or, indeed, even leader of his party by then ? Precisely what will be renegotiated ? What will count as 'success' in any negotiations ? What will happen if Scotland votes for independence in its own referendum ? Etc., etc.

 

Cameron is actually running scared of both his own MPs and UKIP and that's the only reason for his speech. He has no intention whatsoever of really giving us an opportunity of a fair unbiased vote as whatever the outcome of his 'renegotiations' he would claim a huge success and campaign vigorously to stay in this corrupt club. The Liberal Democrats and Labour parties will do the same and we'll be left with exactly the same situation as we had back in 1975 - the Government and major parties all on one side while a relatively small number of right wing Tories and UKIP would be on the other. Campaigning would be skewed strongly in favour of a vote to stay in, mainly because that is the option that most politicians prefer; after all, it is the option that offers them the chance of an alternative career and lots of 'jollies' all at the tax payer's expense.

 

Given that Cameron's chances of still being PM after the 2015 election are slim, most of the above is probably nothing but pointless conjecture. Even if he does somehow hold on to office, it's still more than 2 years to the election  and a further 3 before he would have to fullfil his committment. Harold Wilson famously said that "a week is a long time in politics"; on that scale, 5 years is an eternity. Cameron's speech has meaning for the moment and, perhaps, for the next week or two; beyond that it has no meaning other than as an attempt to safeguard his own position and we all know how precarious can be the positions of political figures.

 

For anyone who really wants to see a change in the relationship between the UK and EU, there is only one option - vote UKIP. Firstly in next year's European elections and then in the General Election of 2015. Forget Cameron's promises, he's already shown himself to be as slippery as any of them when it comes to finding ways out of sticking to them and this will be no different.