To qualify as a recognised group within the European Parliament 19 MEPs from five different nations must be brought together (see today’s Independent). Nicholas Watt, reporting for The Guardian suggests that David Cameron’s search for sufficient new partners for Tory MEPs – once he delivers on his pledge to take them out of the EPP […]
There were lively exchanges in the European Parliament today as Tony Blair defended the weekend’s EU budget agreement before MEPs. Tony Blair received some stick but he gave as good as he got. Echoing John Major’s choice of words after 1991’s Maastricht Treaty, UKIP’s Nigel Farage said that it had been "game, set and match […]
During furious Commons exchanges David Cameron taunted the Prime Minister over his "£7bn EU rebate surrender": "On the budget, does the Prime Minister remember having three clear objectives? First, to limit its size, when almost every country in Europe is taxing and borrowing too much. Second, to ensure fundamental reform of the CAP. And third, […]
A MORI survey for this morning’s Observer gives David Cameron’s Conservative Party a 9% lead over Labour. This is a much bigger lead than that recorded by competitor pollsters but appears to confirm Michael Portillo’s argument that the tectonic plates of politics are moving. The chances of a Labour recovery have been undermined by Tony […]
William Hague has responded to Tony Blair’s EU budget "deal" which sees Margaret Thatcher’s EU rebate reduced by £7bn: “This is a poor deal for Britain, for the EU, and for the developing world. We agree with the Government on the need to help the new Member States, and on the fundamental need to reform […]
The UK Presidency didn’t even begin well. Its flying birds logo seemed to be a rip-off of the Bruges Group’s logo. That small PR failure was an omen of the much bigger problems that have followed. Goran Persson, the Swedish Prime Minister, has suggested that there is only a 50% chance of the Brussels summit […]
IDS has a letter in today’s Times supporting David Cameron on the EPP. The former Tory leader writes: "David Cameron won a strong mandate with the clear aim to break with the EPP. He should be allowed to get on with it. The same voices tell us to lead in Europe. I can think of […]
David Cameron’s commitment to take Tory MEPs out of the European Peoples’ Party was one of the few bankable commitments of his leadership bid. Earlier this week the new Shadow Foreign Secretary, William Hague, said that the commitment would be honoured but Ken Clarke has used an interview with BBC1’s Politics Show to protest against […]
One of the reasons why Kennedy was on the Today programme at 7.20am was that William Hague got the prized 8.10am interview. The new Shadow Foreign Secretary used the interview to say that his own "hardline" Eurosceptic views of the 2001 election (the BBC’s choice of words) were now the common ground of UK politics. […]