AN HISTORIC DAY

 

Today is indeed an historic day.  After years of patient waiting the people of the UK have finally been promised a simple In/Out referendum on the EU once an extensive re-negotiation of our relationship and obligations has taken place.
 

There is one catch to this great news.  We will need a Conservative majority at the next General Election in 2015 if we are to achieve this goal.  Only the Conservatives promise first this re-negotiation and then the resulting arrangements to be put before the people of the UK for them to have their say.  Voting UKIP will only let Labour into power.  And Labour's position is perfectly clear, as set out by Milliband in Parliament this lunchtime:-
 

He simply cannot contemplate the idea of letting the people themselves have any say on this fundamental issue.  Big Brother knows best!

And the LibDems?  They seem fundamentally opposed to any re-negotiation with the EU.  They seem perfectly happy for us to march into an ever closer political union - with each star on the EU flag representing a subjugated region of the undemocratic, totalitarian EU empire ruled by unelected Brussels bureaucrats, officials and an European Parliament in which we have little influence or any power.

My personal preference would be to have had the referendum in this Parliament and I would have campaigned for an OUT vote.  To free ourselves as soon as possible from that monster - let them get on with their political union and all the concepts that their officials support (the latest frightening idea being to only allow journalists that support 'European Values' to register and work on newspapers).  We could use the vast amount of money we send to the EU to improve services, cut taxes or pay down the deficit.  However virtually every senior Conservative that I admire (Carswell, Hannan, Redwood, Fox, even Hague, to quickly name just five) accept that the arrangements set out by David Cameron in his speech today are the most realistic and workable in the situation.  Frankly they are better placed to understand both the politics and the logistics - I'm just a humble District Councillor.

However humble, I am still proud to say that here's a photo of me taken the day after the Where's My Referendum lobby of Parliament in March 2008.  I brought the placard home with me, first on the tube and then on the overground railway back to Ipswich. Its quite a conspicuous placard to carry on public transport!  I can however hold my head up and I will be able to tell any future grandchildren that I did my little part to secure their freedom just as previous generations of Britons did their bit against German Imperial expansion or Nazi aggression during the last century.

POLITICS IS SIMPLE

My sister has just sent me an article from a local newspaper ("Valley News").  The article has been forwarded from person to person (going viral is the computer lingo) using the subject matter heading "So very true".

And as I read it my thoughts became "Politics isn't complicated, it's actually very simple"

First, here's what the article said:-

IMPORTANCE OF TAX RETURN ACCURACY

HMRC has returned the tax return to a man in Evesham after he apparently answered one of the questions incorrectly.  In response to the question "Do you have anyone dependent on you?"the man wrote: "2.1million illegal immigrants, 1.1million crackheads, 4.4million unemployable Jeremy Kyle scroungers, 900,000 criminals in 85 prisons, plus 650 idiots in Parliament and the whole of the European Commission".  HMRC responded that the response he gave was unacceptable.  The man's response to HMRC was: "Who did I miss out?".

So how do I conclude from that article that politics is simple.  Well because politics fundamental boils down to this......

The sympathy with those on the Left in politics is with all the people mentioned in the article.

The sympathy with those on the Right in politics is with the person completing that tax return.

Just think on that simple but profound analysis the next time you're asked to cast your vote.  Who is your sympathy with?



(To be strictly accurate I would dispute the "650 idiots in Parliament" - there are a few sound people there but unfortunately a minority)