David Cameron congratulates Australian Prime Minister on signing Kyoto

David Cameron met with Labor PM Kevin Rudd in London this morning:

"Prime Minister Rudd and I had an excellent meeting this morning during his visit to London. Our talk focused on Britain’s and Australia’s shared commitments in Afghanistan, and the latest developments following the NATO Summit in Bucharest, which Mr Rudd attended.

We also discussed the global economic situation, the prospects for the Doha round, and the Australian Government’s commitment to tackling climate change. I congratulated the Prime Minister on his Government’s decision to sign the Kyoto Treaty immediately upon taking office."

Rudd also met with Brown yesterday, and said that he would not let the Chinese have their own guards surrounding the Olympics torch when it comes to Australia.

David Cameron is increasingly seen by global power-brokers as somebody worth getting to know, and not just those on the right. Under Rudd Australia has joined Spain as the second prominent nation to withdraw from Iraq, his party is dominated by trade unionists, he hasn't been shy about his republicanism during this visit, and his signing of Kyoto was something that his Conservative predecessor John Howard had strongly held out against.

With there being a good chance Cameron will be Prime Minister in 2010 it's worth thinking about who the major world leaders he has to deal with will be. Rudd will very likely still be in power. Stephen Harper is looking solid in Canada despite still being in minority government. Obama or McCain in the US. Sarkozy in France...

Comments

[Sceptic]

Blue Labour loves Oz Labor!

[James]

Cameron congratulates another liberal politician on signing up to an unworkable piece of rubbish. Wow, that lad Cameron is really worth getting to know.

[asquith]

Good to see the usual Daily Hate Mail tendency in the comments section showing us all what the Tory Party is really like

[powellite]

Asquith, you may have a point about tone, but on content James is absolutely right. Kyoto is the epitome of gesture politics - it's a worthless agreement, yet by signing up to it countries are able to assuage their guilty consciences in the knowledge that they don't have to change their ways as a consequence.

The depressing thing is that Cameron will know thus, but because the zeitgeist is for eco-fanaticism, he has to endorse Kyoto. Not a happy reflection on UK politics.

[Dave B]

There was a running thread on Global Warming over on Political Betting yesterday. The last comment on the thread was:

"Socrates, as a geologist who specialised in palaeoclimatology I can safely say that as far as I am personally concerned most of what you have written here tonight is garbage.

I do not actually expect you or any other of the AGW zealots to change their mind and unlike SeanT I got to the point long ago of realising there was no point in persuing these arguments with people like you as you are so committed to the new paradigms that they have become something of a religion.

But there are still many scientists out there doing reseach which is slowly chipping away at the politically motivated theories of climate change and there are a lot of people who are going to be looking very very silly in a few years time.

This particular false scientific orthodoxy will ecventually be consigned to the dustbin of history along with eugenics and IQ tests. It is just a shame that, like them, it will do so much damage before it is realised how wrong the theory was."

-----------------------------------------

Nigel Lawson's forthcoming book, "An Appeal to Reason: A Cool Look at Global Warming", is currently number 9 in Amazon UK's bestseller list.

[Jonathan Powell]

Maybe Cameron should read Nigel Lawson's new book...

[Pisaboy]

What about Merkel in Germany? When's the next German election? Apparently she's ahead of Blair in the EU presidential stakes.

[Matthew]

Rudd seemed pretty impressive to me alongside Gord-awful Brown. I may not agree with all of his politics but you can't help respecting the man for the way he simultaneously shot down Gord and the Chinese without fear on that press conference. I love the fact that Australian politicians feel able to say what they want without worrying about what people might say. It leads to much more enlightened and engaging political debate. Like his politics or not, DC will have to deal with him in the future, and it is good for his image that foreign leaders seem him as worth knowing.

[Pisaboy]

Looks like Germany has elections autumn next year:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections_in_Germany

[Iain]

"It leads to much more enlightened and engaging political debate. "

I think this comes from the fact that Australians are still a sovereign people able to make their own laws and determine their own future as a result their politicians have to have an opinion, a policy, and expect to be held accountable, unlike our mealy mouthed lot who having signed away so much of our sovereignty are less legislators and more like social workers, but still peddle the pretence they do amount to something. but in reality determine didly, and if they did have the temerity to want to decide something, it would probably be shot down by the courts for contravening some treaty, human rights act, or obligation they have signed us up to with the EU.

[David]

Let's not further wreck our economy to no purpose, and rip-off British energy consumers to subsidise wind farms and crazy, corrupt 'carbon credits' schemes.

[Cllr Tony Sharp]

"Rudd seemed pretty impressive to me alongside Gord-awful Brown."

Matthew, right now Gordon Brown would make Michael Foot look impressive.

After all those years of preparing for what Brown saw as his destiny he claimed his prize. But the prize was the end in itself.

Brown has no vision and he is not leading the country. It shows all that mattered was a partisan political victory and attaining the position of PM. The position is all about furthering Labour's electoral ambitions rather than those of the people. It is now dawning on the electorate.

[Helen]

Why is this labelled international conservatism? Which one is the international conservative?

[We're Not New Labour]

"Why is this labelled international conservatism? Which one is the international conservative?"

Well neither Rudd nor Cameron, both of whom are at heart actually leftist social democrats and not conservatives.

[Richard Carey]

"Why is this labelled international conservatism? Which one is the international conservative?"

Well neither Rudd nor Cameron, both of whom are at heart actually leftist social democrats and not conservatives.

That's funny - I could have sworn that David Cameron was leader of the Conservtive Party, I think I voted for him...

I know that in some areas we might need to improve the way we collect our subs, but I'm sure that the Association in Witney has collected their £25 from their MP in the last year!

Sometimes, the anonymous contributors to this site are beyond parody.

[anthony scholefield]

What a waste!.Spouting the neo Marxist orthodoxy of man made global warming-it used to be global cooling in the 1970s as we well rememeber but it turned 180 degrees without any rhyme or reason-but the saddest thing is that the consensus is slowly collapsing.
Perhaps Lord Lawson could get the House of Lords to look at it -it might demolish Camerons climate policy just as it recently demolished the policy he wrote in the 2005 manifesto'we all benefi from immigration'

[Edward Huxley]

"Not within days, not within months, but within weeks of you electing me as leader, I will take my MEPs out of the EPP/ED". David Cameron`s stirring words which helped him win the Conservative party leadership. We all know what happened after that- nothing!

Does anyone believe what the leader of Blue Labour says?

[Gnosis]

Edward Huxley April 09, 2008 at 08:28
Does anyone believe what the leader of Blue Labour says?
No Edward i don't believe Mr Cameron,i thought he was an honest man, but since he has failed on his first and what i think was his most important promise then no i sadly don't believe him anymore.

[John Broughton]

Richard Carey

Judge people by their actions not their protestations.

Edward and Gnosis demonstrate the point!

[Gnosis]

Mr Broughton.
we were promised to be taken out of the e.p.p but Mr Cameron has not done so,if you want to be a sycophantic yes man to all the bonkers blue socialist veiws that the "MODERN" conservative party seem to want then thats your choice sir,we are not quite a communist state yet so i will have my say along with Mr Huxley even if you paid workers for the cchq machine don't like it.