Labour promised a referendum on the
European constitution. This constitution failed to become reality. Some of the
good elements of the constitution that attempt to streamline the European Union
have become part of the Lisbon Treaty. The UK Government is supporting this. No
referendum is being held regarding the treaty. There is not usually a
referendum on treaties. This is no different to when John Major’s government
signed the European Maastricht Treaty or arguably when Margaret Thatcher’s
government joined the European Exchange Rate Mechanism. Therefore I think it
has been hypocritical for Cameron to argue that Britain needs a referendum on
Lisbon.
It smells of
political opportunism and short-term political gain against the long-term
interests of the country. But at least Cameron has stuck to his guns, right?
Wrong. Conservativehome, the website that is in the Conservative know and
represents the Conservative’s grassroots, has announced that Cameron will not
push for a referendum on Europe should the treaty pass. This is despite him
saying to the new Tory chums, The Sun, “Today, I will give this cast-iron
guarantee: If I become PM a Conservative government will hold a referendum on
any EU treaty that emerges from these negotiations.” Didn’t the Sun just
back the Tories?
Instead Cameron will now attempt to do what has worked for him
before; to marginalise Britain to the fringes of Europe just as he did with his
party to insure he is secure in the company of the Eurosceptics that infest his
party. Leaving the mainstream centre-right EPP group to ally with the Latvian
For Fatherland and Freedom party (that celebrates collaboration with the Nazi
Waffen-SS against the Russians) and the Polish Law and Justice party (who have
said homosexuals should not be teachers) shows that he is not bothered about
Britain’s reputation in Europe or in the world, but instead his own reputation
amongst the likes of Redwood, David and Tebbit. Former Tory MEPs have said the
decision to leave the EPP was “stupid” and the party was swapping an alliance
with the mainstream parties of Sarkozy and Merkel for extremists and “odds and
sods”.
Since this embarrassing debacle, Hilary Clinton has
expressed alarm that a break in relations between a possible future Tory
Government and mainstream Europe would diminish Britain’s ability to be a
bridge between Europe and America and diminish the special relationship. This
would reduce how Britain is seen in the world. Michael Heseltine has warned the
Conservative leadership in a private meeting that Clinton is right and Cameron
has got it wrong on Europe and that he would be forced into a humiliating
retreat on Europe if he wins power. He predicts that the Tories will have to
rejoin the EPP soon after the General Election. There are even calls for John
Redwood to lead this renegotiation. The Conservatives are beginning to once
again tear themselves apart over Europe. As Conservativehome stated, “internal
divisions that ended the last Tory period in government will look like a tea
party in comparison.”