Timo Soini was in Birmingham two years ago to deliver a keynote address at UKIP’s 2012 party conference. “Timo Soini’s return to Birmingham exposes Cameron’s misguided appeasement of the UKIP Militant Tendency within the Conservative Party. The Conservative Party’s leadership has surrendered control to the Euro-rebels”, stated Hazell. As Conservative London region chairman during the 2005 general election, Hazell saw first-hand the growth of the Tory’s UKIP militant tendency - with Cameron making matters worse through his irresponsible promise to leave the EPP during his Conservative Party leadership bid.
As leading British media commentators highlight increasing chances that the Conservative Party will finally split over Europe, speeches by senior Conservative MPs Ken Clarke and John Redwood yesterday (Mon - 29 Sept) exposed hardening divisions as rebels call for UKIP-Tory pacts.
“John Redwood’s threat that businesses should ‘keep out and not express a corporate view’ on Europe is a hypocritical and menacing attack on freedom. It is reckless anti-EU Tories who daily undermine Britain’s strategic investment prospects and voice across Europe and beyond. British influence was sharply reduced when Cameron marched his Tory MEPs out of the EPP Group in 2009, and it has been downhill ever since”, observed Hazell: “Given Boris Johnson’s renewed invitation to UKIP’s boss Nigel Farage to join the Conservative Party, the split looks virtually inevitable - unless remaining pro-Europeans wish to serve under UKIP.”
Both British PM David Cameron and the Mayor of London Boris Johnson appear prepared to campaign for Britain to exit the EU if the Conservative renegotiation plans fail to deliver a special deal for the UK. “Cameron needs to come clean with the British people over his EU strategy. Short-term tactics and media Euro-spin are no substitute for a national strategy. Cameron must explain how the Tories plan to stop Brexit”, said Hazell.
Tomorrow (Wed - 1 Oct) lunchtime, Cameron’s nominee as Britain’s European Commissioner - Lord Hill of Oareford - will be grilled for three hours by the European Parliament’s economic and monetary affairs committee. “It is good to see Jonathan Hill vow to keep Britain in the EU, but Hill’s credibility is undermined as the British Conservative-led ECR Group lurches to the harder right and Cameron loses control”, warned Hazell.
“Before Britain went to the polls on Thursday 22 May, our 4 Freedoms Party (UK EPP) asked both the Prime Minister as leader of the Conservative Party and also the leader of the Conservative MEPs to come clean about their intended euro-allies. They instead concealed from the British people what was already planned. In reality UKIP-sympathiser Daniel Hannan MEP - not David Cameron - runs the Conservative Party in Brussels: alone good enough reason for British business to speak out”, explained Hazell.
Two of anti-EU MEP Hannan’s closest friends and allies - former Tory MPs Douglas Carswell and Mark Reckless - recently defected to UKIP. - One-time special adviser to Conservative party leader Michael Howard, Hannan is currently boycotting this year’s Conservative Party conference. Seen as the UKIP Trojan Horse in the Tory Party, Hannan is becoming increasingly strident in defying Cameron and opposing Britain’s EU membership.
The pro-European 4 Freedoms Party (UK EPP) gives centre ground, centre-right pro-European people in the UK the chance to be back at the heart of Europe, inside the mainstream EPP family. “By refusing to face down UKIP, instead putting his own survival as party leader ahead of the British national interest, Cameron is taking Britain to the brink of Brexit. - We offer an alternative. We are determined to repair the damage Cameron created. We believe in bringing people together, not driving them apart. Britain should lead not leave the EU”, concluded Hazell.