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RECKLESS REFERENDUM PLEDGE RISKS UK FUTURE IN EUROPE

16/10/2014

 
This Friday (17 Oct), the British Parliament will debate the second Private Member’s Bill (PMB) calling for the date of a referendum on British EU membership to be announced by the end of 2016 and to take place during 2017.  “This reckless Conservative ploy - led by the new Bill’s proponent Bob Neill MP - undermines UK membership of the EU.  By bringing Britain to the brink of Brexit in a desperate effort to appease UKIP, Cameroon Conservatives yet again place party politics ahead of the national interest”, 4 Freedoms Party (UK EPP) leader Dirk Hazell warned: “As we predicted at the time, British PM David Cameron’s Bloomberg speech in January 2013 led only to deeper Tory split over Europe”.

 

After the House of Lords blocked by 180 votes to 130 earlier this year (Fri - 31 Jan) Tory MP James Wharton’s original Bill, Cameron is once again trying to force through this major constitutional gamble via a Private Member's Bill.  “By planning to invoke the rarely used Parliament Act and overrule the House of Lords, Cameron is caving into the Conservative Party’s UKIP militant tendency.  British parliamentarians are being asked to support this EU referendum without knowing anything of Cameron’s renegotiation plans.  This white flag of surrender to UKIP is a blank cheque, with no clear strategy.  Cameron’s essay crisis policy-making is undermining British influence”, stated Hazell.

 

In 2011, the European Union Act ensured that the British people can vote on any future major transfers of powers from the UK to the EU, providing a chance to campaign for Britain to be at the heart of Europe once everyone knows what is on offer.  At the time, William Hague wrote of this so-called ‘Referendum Lock’ that ‘this law hands back democratic control of the way the EU is developing to the British electorate’ and ‘means being positive and proactive about what European countries can achieve together through the EU’. “In 2014, Cameron is more desperate than ever to put internal party politics ahead of the national interest.  On the English and European questions, Cameron’s kowtowing to UKIP cannot succeed”.

 

Before Tuesday’s (14 Oct) House of Commons devolution debate, the UK government outlined more powers for the Scottish Parliament - after September’s referendum.  “Even UKIP leader Nigel Farage agrees the UK is too centralised.  A settlement similar to Germany’s Basic Law would strengthen both Britain’s regional identity and our voice in the EU.  Cameron’s tactics fail to defeat UKIP - instead bringing Britain to the brink of Scottish separation and to the edge of Europe”, added Hazell.

 

Next month (Thurs - 20 Nov), Cameron faces further electoral test in the Kent parliamentary by-election for Rochester and Strood - following Tory MP Mark Reckless’ defection to UKIP.  “Cameron is hostage to UKIP sympathisers like Daniel Hannan MEP ever since recklessly pledging, as part of the 2005 Tory leadership race, to order Tory MEPs out of the mainstream centre-right EPP Group in Brussels.  Cameron cannot stem the rise of UKIP, and is instead surrendering British influence across the EU by caving in to the Conservative Euro-rebels”.

 

“The 4 Freedoms Party (UK EPP) continues to challenge Cameron’s plan to marginalise further the UK.  We believe in Britain leading, not leaving, Europe - and will strive to put Britain back at the heart of Europe”, concluded Hazell: “In our interconnected world, no nation is an island.  Through shared values and by sharing sovereignty, our local communities, cities, regions and nations can combat global challenges such as climate change, and the growing gap between rich and poor.  We cannot recover the past: our focus must be that the future is ours to lose or win.  By working together within the EU, we can shape a better future free of fear”, concluded Hazell. 

POSITIVE PRO-EUROPEAN POLICIES CAN DEFEAT UKIP POLITICS OF FEAR

10/10/2014

 
UKIP’s twin successes earlier this morning (Fri - 10 Oct), thrashing the Conservative Party in the Clacton (Essex, UK) by-election and slashing Labour’s majority in Heywood and Middleton (Greater Manchester, UK) leader of the 4 Freedoms Party (UK EPP) Dirk Hazell urged: “Voters clearly want change, but UKIP’s politics of fear are not the answer.  Pro-Europeans should set out a clear and positive vision of the UK’s future in a changing Europe.  The Tory tactic of appeasing UKIP and caving in to the Conservative Party’s UKIP Militant Tendency is destined to fail.”

 
Acknowledging new UKIP MP Douglas Carswell’s courage in triggering yesterday’s (Thurs - 9 Oct) Clacton by-election, Hazell stated: “Carswell is right to identify ‘change in technology that redefines the relationship between the governing and the governed’.  But as pro-Europeans we disagree with Carswell’s anti-EU stance.  Sharing sovereignty within Europe is essential if we are to combat global challenges such as climate change and the growing gap between rich and poor.  By working together at the heart of Europe we can shape a better future free of fear.”

 
“UKIP is also right to call for federalism: we need a federal UK based on subsidiarity, giving people more power over local decisions”, noted Hazell: “But in our interconnected world, no man is an island.  UKIP’s insular policies offer a false anti-EU prospectus for Britain’s vulnerable.  Brexit would lead to less inward investment and fewer opportunities.  Becoming an offshore tax haven for oligarchs and bankers may benefit UKIP’s wealthy backers, but it would leave most people behind.  Instead of leaving the EU, we should strive for a leading role in shaping Europe’s future.”

 
“The British government’s own internal review into the balance of competences finds that Britain benefits from continued EU membership, as the respected CEPS think tank points out.  The creation of the EU has ensured a better, fairer Europe based on freedom and security”, said Hazell: “Cameron’s Brexit brinkmanship raises uncertainty and reduces British influence beyond Brussels.  By placing internal party politics ahead of the national interest, British PM David Cameron is kowtowing to the Conservative Party’s UKIP Militant Tendency.”

 
“Cameron’s essay crisis policy-making lacks strategic direction.  Reckless tactics such as leaving the mainstream centre-right EPP Group in Brussels reduce British influence, while failing to stem the rise of UKIP.  Cameron must stop caving in to Conservative Euro-rebels, UKIP sympathisers like Daniel Hannan MEP.  Instead, Cameron should set out a positive vision of Britain’s European destiny.  By advocating traditional one nation Tory values and presenting a pro-European plan for Britain’s future we can defeat UKIP’s fear mongering”, commented Hazell. 

 
As the Coalition faces another by-election test in the Kent parliamentary seat of Rochester and Strood - following Tory MP Mark Reckless’ earlier defection to UKIP - Hazell looked ahead to next year’s (Thurs - 7 May 2015) UK General Election: “UKIP looks set to be to the 2015 General Election what the Liberal Democrats were to 2010.  And voters are abandoning the Coalition government.  In Clacton, the LibDem vote was 91% lower than in 2010.  In Heywood and Middleton, the Conservative vote was 72% lower than in 2010. British politics are changing.”

 
Amid fears in Brussels - plus Liberal Democrat splits in the Coalition - that Cameron’s ill-judged 2017 British EU referendum plan could complicate national election campaigns in Germany and France, Hazell concluded: “The 4 Freedoms Party (UK EPP) is determined to challenge Cameron’s plan to marginalise further the UK.  We believe in Britain leading, not leaving, Europe - and will strive to put Britain back at the heart of Europe”.  ENDS

    4 Freedoms Party (UK EPP)

    Promoted by M Paterson on behalf of 4 Freedoms Party (UK EPP), both at Office 103, 405 Kings Road, London, SW10 0BB

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