I wrote on Monday that the European budget should be cut like all other budgets.Some CR posters suggested that there would be no appetite for this suggestion in Parliament, but the heroic Douglas Carswell has led the charge, with 34 Conservative MPs pledging to oppose the hitherto unchallenged progress of a whopping cash handover to the EU despite belt-tightening in every other corner of the budget process.
Two things to note.
- I don't think of this as a "rebellion". Look at the list. These aren't "usual suspects". These are people from across the Party and (IMHO) many with significant futures in Parliament. If anything, I regard this as a loyal thing for British MPs to do, and something that reflects both the Conservative tradition and specifically the thrust of the 2010 manifesto.
- On the other hand, there is no need for this to be seen as a party-political issue. Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs and members who see cuts coming in the public sector in this country are presumably equally aghast at the prospect of the money flowing to Europe going unchanged. I trust that the ranks of people supporting Douglas's position will be swelled by Members from the other side of the aisle.
The list is of course not definitive. There will be more Conservatives who agree, who can be added. So - if you have a Conservative Member, is your MP on the list?
