By Jim McConalogue In a little-observed statement in the House of Commons on Monday this week, the Chancellor George Osborne – in responding to a question by Tory backbencher and Chair of the House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee, Bernard Jenkin MP, over the “orderly break-up of the euro” – stated in his reply, “… […]
By Jim McConalogue Let’s get this straight – if we are to talk about any political hypocrisy in relation to events now unfolding in the Middle East, it is Britain’s part in the European Union’s hypocrisy over the Egyptian regime – notably, the clear discrepancy between generous EU funding and decades of failed demands for […]
It is well worth reading Paul Goodman’s article on the EU Bill and the clauses being put forward and debated today. Firstly, the sovereignty of Parliament is the democratic basis of the UK constitution but has become increasingly questioned by judges. Many will remember reading the election manifesto pledge and the Prime Minister made clear […]
David Cameron has said “From April next year we will start measuring our progress as a country not just by how our economy is growing, but by how our lives are improving, not just by our standard of living, but by our quality of life. … We’ll continue to measure GDP as we’ve always done, […]
Jim McConalogue, Editor of the European Journal, offers a general introduction to what’s wrong with our relationship with the EU. The European Union threatens British national life to the extent that the European Treaties which have led to the creation of a European government subvert the laws, governance and way of life inherent to the […]
James McConalogue, Editor of the European Journal, fears that the lack of honourable policies on the EU stains the Conservative Party’s current strong standing in the polls. So, mid-December’s YouGov poll of nearly 1,500 people showed that the Conservatives have reached their strongest position for fifteen years. Although polling can sometimes detract from the long-term […]
James McConalogue, Editor of the European Journal, criticises Gordon Brown for not being serious about boycotting the EU summit. Gordon Brown’s most recent position toward the EU-Africa summit is yet another example of how impossible it is for Britain to pursue its own foreign policy through the channels of the European Union. Brown has pretended […]
James McConalogue, Editor of the European Journal, comments on the ESC’s finding that the EU Treaty is substantially equivalent to the Constitution. The Labour-centric, All-Party House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee has now reported on the legal and political importance of the EU Reform Treaty. Beyond its examination of the ‘secretive’ way in which the […]
James McConalogue, Editor of the European Journal, argues that Brown should focus on reforming the EU, particularly the ECHR, as it has so much power to make decisions about his country. Gordon Brown, I can appreciate, will have a tough job indeed. To undo and reform ten years of Blairite isolationism (from the parliament, public […]
Jim McConalogue, Editor of the European Journal, fears that Ed Balls’, and therefore Gordon Brown’s, "hard-headed Europeanism" will be more of the same. Yesterday, Gordon Brown’s key political architect, Ed Balls MP, wrote an amazingly refreshing article in The Sunday Times on the future of the EU treaty. The article entitled "Europe doesn’t need a […]
James McConalogue is Editor of The European Journal. He manages the European Foundation, chaired by Bill Cash MP. The Foundation proposes the renegotiation of all existing and forthcoming EU treaties. Holding to its original raison d’être – of “yes to European trade, no to European government” – the European Foundation does not advocate withdrawal from […]
By Jim McConalogue The Foreign Secretary William Hague maintained at the Conservative Party Conference that the Eurozone had become a “burning building with no exits” in a speech that was also careful to point out that British interests were closely tied to the future of the Euro area. I generally agreed with the tone of that […]