Ten reasons why Tory MEPs are 'delivering for Britain'

These reasons were put out in a leaflet (PDF) at Tory Spring Forum:

1. Fighting for British jobs by opposing job-destroying EU legislation like the Working Time Directive.
2. Opening up new markets for British business in sectors such as services, telecoms and energy.
3. Tory MEPs have defended British traditions - defeating attempts to ban the sale of goods in pounds and ounces. Tory MEPs have also fought for honesty in online air fare advertising and limited roaming charges for mobile phone use in Europe.
4. Conservative MEPs have kept their promise to campaign against the revised Constitutional Treaty and for the British people to have a referendum on Lisbon.
5. Conservative MEPs have voted to scrap wasteful EU spending, campaigned against the two homes for the European Parliament and to defend Margaret Thatcher's EU rebate.
6. Conservative MEPs are the only UK party to have voted against signing off the EU accounts every year since 1998 given that the EU Court of Auditors continues to refuse to give the accounts a clean bill of health.
7. Tory MEPs supported new EU legislation to cut carbon emmissions, promote renewable energy and control the use of dangerous chemicals.
8. Conservative MEPs support reform of the Common Agricultural Policy and freer, fairer trade with the developing world.
9. The Conservatives' Right To Know regime for expenses is the most transparent regime of any UK political party.
10. On animal welfare the Tories in the European Parliament have successfully campaigned for bans on battery cages for chickens, improved conditions for rearing pigs and a ban in trade of cat and dog fur.

ConHome's Reason 11 would be Dan Hannan.  THAT speech to Gordon Brown in the European Parliament.  He addressed Spring Forum in Cheltenham yesterday.  It's a must-watch speech and thanks to ToryBear you can watch it here.

Tim Montgomerie

> Conservatives in the European Parliament website

Comments

[pp]

I don't see the 'delivery' there - I see plenty of references to 'voting' and 'campaigning' - but any 'delivery' seems to be buried too deep for me to see.

Can anyone help me find it?

A cost/benefit analysis of our MEPs work would be interesting...

[Michael Shilliday]

The Conservative group of MEPs is the only one with members from every part of the UK?

[Henry Mayhew - Ukipper]

Good old Timothy Kirkhope! We can all look forward to considering voting for him in June. I will enjoy that as my pencil hovers.

[Ross Warren]

Our MEPs have a difficult job, coming from a party that in many cases despises their position and want the institution gone. Lets cut them some slack, and remember that if they did not hold those seats somebody else, maybe even a Nu-labour wastrel, would.
"and a ban in trade of cat and dog fur"?
What a strange poeple we are!

[Edward Huxley]

Quite a lot of these are also UKIP policy. A few comments without going into too much detail-

4.Referendum on the Treaty. perhaps they can persuade Mr. Cameron to make this an unconditional promise. We are fed up with "We won`t leave it there".

7. Carbon emissions. The unachievable targets and drive for "green" power using wind farms and solar panels are risible and will be a disaster for us. Ask that sensible MEP Roger Helmer what he thinks about this - and Better Off Out too!

9. Expenses. In view of the record of Mr. Dover and others they would have been well advised to leave this out.

I could go on, but that`s enough for now.

[Rupert Matthews]

These work for me - mind you I am a bit biased.

[Sally Roberts]

Why did Dan Hannan, a Conservative MEP, say nothing about all this?

[David_at_Home]

Oh come on! Is that it? Is that what the Tory MEPs are for? Is it for this that we pay, directly, about £20K billion a year plus indirect costs, destroy our fishing industry, are locked into a hopelessly inefficient CAP, surrender our national sovereignty and give unrestricted access to out country to all the criminals in the continent?

"Tory MEPs supported new EU legislation to cut carbon emissions, promote renewable energy..." Try running a factory on windmill power! This policy, if implemented will kill what little remains of UK industry stone dead.

A vote for the Tory Party in June is a vote for surrender to an alien undemocratic empire, for tyranny and for economic melt down.

[David_at_Home]

Should read “…Is it for this that we pay, directly, about £20 billion a year plus indirect costs…”

[Chad Noble (ex ToryBlog.com)]

Is the Libertas ad true, that 63% of Tory MEP's voted in favour of a 27% pay rise for themselves?

We know who these MEP's are delivering for...

[Treacle]

The very best thing the Euro MEP's could do for our chances in the Euro Elections is keep quiet.

Just that, crawl into a cave and keep quiet; the subject is poison and, with a few honourable exceptions, the MEPs are so out of touch with the average voter's view of Europe that everything they say just damage.

[Paul G (formerly Comstock)]

Just watched the first bit of Dan Hannan's speech. All very funny, but are those figures on spending and nationalisation adjusted for inflation? Somehow I doubt it.

[christina Speight]

That list of trivia set against the 80% of our laws coming from Brussels is pathetic. On important matters they - and the blog - are silent.

Last week Mark Francois, the party's shadow minister for Europe gave a seminal interview to Spiegel where he talked about fundamental issues of our relationship with the EU.

I've given a translation of this to the blog and will happily let anybody else have it. It goes a long way to answer point 4. To include that point 4 as having anything to with MEPs is silly. A referendum can only be granted here and you and I have as much say as an MEP in getting it.

And Sally , I expect that Dan didn't mention it because he and several other good MEPs are not impressed by the party's effectiveness in the EU. [that's putting it politely!]

Every day that passes is a day nearer to election day for MEPs and we still have had no policy statement at all. If it goes on like this many of us will not support the 'fiddled' lists of candidates put before us and will go elsewhere for the Euro-elections. Hague asked for a protest vote. He may get one.

[John B]

That list makes such depressing reading. Decisions taken by the Council of Ministers, not the European Parliament, by-pass even the pretence of democracy. As someone who has written to each of my Conservative MEPs [3 represent this large area] I am amazed to read this account of what they have 'considered' doing. They don't apparently 'consider' answering letters! They definitely do not represent on our behalf anything that is important to our community. Where is any GOOD result? What shows is the destruction of British fishing/farming/Legal system/freedoms, and the invasion of EU refugees in such numbers that it apparently precludes UK from accepting our own Ghurkha soldiers.

[RichardJ]

Last time I looked the common external tariff and CAP were still in place. Get rid of those and I will praise our MEPs to the rooftops.

[Haddock]

no 6 on the list seems to suggest that the UK party UKIP voted FOR signing off the accounts.

[Dorothy Wilson]

"A cost/benefit analysis of our MEPs work would be interesting...~"

A cost/benefit analysis on our membership of the EU would be even more interesting.

[christina Speight]

Since writing half an hour ago I have seen on BBC Online ":Giant database plan to be set out"

Here is - for once - an admission by government that they are merely obeying orders from Brussels and an example of how we no longer rule ourselves. Normally, while taking orders, government tries to maintain the fiction that it is their policy. Here the mask has dropped for a second. It's all " to comply with an EU directive "

This proposal is totally illiberal and authoritarian but as usual it comes unheralded out of the blue.

Back here we are - rightly - concerned about the dreadful mess our government has made of our country. But meanwhile our enemies in Brussels never sleep and here’s an example!

Liberal Democrats called the idea of a giant database "Orwellian".

Shami Chakrabarti, director of civil rights group Liberty, said: "It is a hallmark of free societies that whilst the police target criminal suspects, government does not monitor the entire population."

Former Director of Public Prosecutions Sir Ken Macdonald said: "This database would be an unimaginable hell house of personal private information. It would be a complete read-out of every citizen's life in the most intimate and demeaning detail.

What have our useless Tory MEPs got to say about this?

[jonik]

In practice a small group of MEPs is powerless in the EU. They can make noises but not much more.
EU decisions are made by deals between the Commision and national unrepresentative parties such as the present British government
Surely an arguement for a vote for Libertas on 4 June.

[David_at_Home]

"...no 6 on the list seems to suggest that the UK party UKIP voted FOR signing off the accounts."

Which they did not!

[David Parker]

Sally Roberts,
Of course Dan Hannan did not refer to areas where Tory MEPs had campaigned, for the most part fruitlessly, since he had already made the point that it was not the European Parliament, but the European Commission which made all the important decisions.

[13th spitfire]

You still fall short of having a backbone. Take the new EU Data Retention Directive; Sweden said the whole thing was so ridiculous so they are going to ignore it. But the UK on the other hand... well you know the drift "rubber stamp and gold platting" and so on.

[The Huntsman]

1. They seem to have precious little real effect upon the 85% of the laws which come into force in the UK which emanate from unelected, unaccountable officials in Brussels and which end up being nodded through by MPs in Westminster. Will they campaign for us to have control of our country back?

2. "Conservative MEPs have kept their promise to campaign against the revised Constitutional Treaty and for the British people to have a referendum on Lisbon."

With five weeks to go, no proper explanation is forthcoming of what, precisely, 'We won't leave matters there' means. If the party will not elucidate on this, many voters will be disinclined to buy a pig in a poke and will vote UKIP which, whatever its shortcomings, at least has made its position abundantly clear.

The witching hour is upon us and we have to be straightforward with the people of Britain on this. Further delay will be highly damaging.

It is all very well for Hague to attack Brown over his behaviour concerning the Treaty of Lisbon & the referendum thereon, but if no further exposition of what is proposed by us, then voters will conclude we are at best being devious about it and at worst downright dishonest and in either event not to be trusted.

[Peter Buss]

The problem with the EU debate is the way in which it is carried on.If you support us coming out of the EU, then you are immediately derided as a "Little Englander".If you believe we should stay in then you are denounced as a "Traitor and handing this VCCountry over to foeign rule". And yet on both sides of the argument are loads of good men and women who whilst coming to a different conclusion do it on a genuine desire to do whats best for this Country. Ken Clarke is no more a traitor to this Country than Dan Hannan is a narrow minded little Englander. Both are men of honour and principle.

My own prefernce has always been for us to be in the EU - thats a view which I have arived at believing it to be so on balance. But I also believe passionately that my lot on the pro EU side were not atraight with this Country when we joined or during the 76 referendum and all our troubles stem from that fact as people ae constantly amazed at the next set of proposals from the EU on further integration.And that surprise is only too understandable as we were all told that our membership would not lead to this level of integration.

Likewise the anti Lisbon Treaty lobby for a referendum is also basically dishonest - and it saddens me to say so. The insitigators of it know very well that the rest of the EU will not go back on the Treaty and so we will be given a straight choice of in or out. Be honest, thats what some of you want the outcome to be. Its a thinly disguised way of ensuring that we have to leave the EU. That is not an honest way of going about business in my view.

The straightforward and honest way is to promise a referendum on either accepting the |Lisbon Treay and all its works (ie ever inceasing integration) or negotiating a new relationship with the EU. Then we all have a straight and honest choice. I say that as someone who is pro EU but believes that until this boil is lanced we are simply landing up with the worst of both worlds.

[Ben Stevenson]

I intend to vote UKIP at the European elections and Conservative at the general elections. What is the point having Conservative MEPs campaign for a referendum on Lisbon when the MPs don't seem to have given an unambiguous commitment to a referendum?

[Julian Melford]

On point 3 - the linked article from Giles Chichester MEP talks about pints and miles being safe.

Under Euro law, we are only allowed to buy and sell beer and cider by the pint - nothing has changed that, or the harsh reality that if a trader offers other goods for sale without metric measurements, he can be prosecuted, fined thousands of pounds and even jailed.

Some achievement. Does anyone wonder why people lend their vote to UKIP in protest or simply switch off from the European Parliament elections?

[christina Speight]

Ben Stevenson and the Huntsman - There is n o point in giving a protest vote to UKIP. It will not be noticed by the media and will be totally wasted. However, if you hold your nose and do the unthinkable and vote BNP all those lazy hacks will actually have to think for once and all three main parties will be scared out of their wits.

If the party will not publicise HERE what they say in Europe to the leading German magazine they are clearly ashamed of what the Shadow Minister for Europe said. Duplicity your name is Con-Lab-Lib

[RichardJ]

"However, if you hold your nose and do the unthinkable and vote BNP all those lazy hacks will actually have to think for once and all three main parties will be scared out of their wits."

Voting BNP as a protest vote is a very risky strategy that may have some unpleasant unintended consequnces. If they do well then some of our less pleasant countrymen may feel emboldened to behave violently towards ethnic minorities.

[Ross Warren]

I agree with what your saying RichardJ. The temptation to vote BNP as a protest must be discouraged. The more votes the BNP get the bigger the chance of them making a breakthrough into the mainstream of politics.
As it is the Conservative party should be the first choice party of those who hold our Nation dear. I hope that when we are back in power we will not be afraid to ditch the PC nonsense and bang the drum for Britain like we always have in the past. The is nothing wrong with wrapping ourselves in the flag. It looks good and helps to keep you warm on a cold day :-)

[The Huntsman]

christina Speight @ 12:11
I am not voting for UKIP but merely pointing out why some voters may feel inclined not to vote conservative because our policy on the Treaty is unclear as to what happens if it comes into force.

We are promised a referendum if it is ratified but has not come into force. We are told that we will campaign against the treaty, presumably on the basis that it is not in the interests of the UK.

The Treaty does not suddenly cease to be against our interests if it has come into force and thus logically we ought to be promising a referendum whether or not it has come into force.

Our equivocation on this simple and blindingly obvious point is why some voters will say that we are not to be trusted and are being duplicitous.

It is they who will drift off to such as UKIP.

This is surely a bad idea when we need to maximise our vote so as to do as much damage to Labour as possible.

[christina Speight]

The idea that we should "maximise" our vote in the Euro-elections when the Tory party is being deceitful and duplicitous - and always has been on the subject - is anathema to me. William Hague called for a protest vote and unless the party says something definite rapidly I will meet his wish.

The fact that RichardJ and Ross Warren are screaming blue murder at the mere suggestion of a BNP vote says what I said namely that such a vote would cause "all three main parties to be scared out of their wits.". The hacks will stay asleep if you vote UKIP and the EU will have won again if you vote Con-Lab-Lib-Green . The lot need a kick where it really hurts.

[Ben Stevenson]

I think a vote for UKIP is far clearer in terms of what message it sends. I no they are not a single issue party - they have other policies apart from leaving the EU - but in terms of how a vote for them would be interpreted, they may as well be.
A vote for the BNP, while it may get more attention, would likely be interpreted as supporting policies that I strongly oppose.
I noticed that the short description of UKIP displayed on search engines, describes UKIP as a "libertarian, non-racist party seeking Britain's withdrawal from the European Union".
The BNP homepage shows that their main concern is immigration, and talks about St George's day being a celebration for the "native people of England".
Both parties may support withdrawal from the EU, but a vote for UKIP is a far better way to make a protest vote on the issue of the EU.

[David_at_Home]

A vote for the BNP would be a vote for the party that would expel the Oriental Mrs_at_Home, my Wife of more than 30 years, and I assume our two highly educated entirely culturally British but slightly off white grown up children (but where too? they have no other nationality).

There are millions of people in a similar position.

Are you really advocating support for that bunch of national socialist thugs, Christina Speight?

[Mr Angry]

Not very good reasons to vote for the gravy train riders though are they? I could just as easily come up with 10 ways that our MEPs have betrayed Britain and let down their constituents, starting with re-electing that quisling Kirkhope as their leader. For that alone I will not be voting Conservative at the Euros, never mind the entirely self serving way that they had democracy within the party perverted in order to ensure that the membership couldn't de-select any of their federalists.

[Mr Angry]

Oh and Christina Speight - Voting BNP is NEVER the answer unless the question is how to demonstrate that you are a racist ignoramus with socialist economic tendencies and a desire to be ruled by violent thugs.

[pp]

It is a bit late to worry about where protest votes might go.

That should have been thought of before the federalist euphile dinosaurs were re-selected. Having forced cameron to renegue on a campaign promise (even if mitigated to an extent more recently) he should have marked their cards.

Cameron is going to have to take his medicine on this one.

Labour have a similar problem - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1171730/Labour-Minister-PHIL-WOLLAS-I-want-vote-Tory.html

The benefit of the BNP over UKIP as a protest is that everyone (sensible) will always hate the BNP - whereas UKIP may be seen as redeemable, and so could be the subject of a charm campaign that may work...

And anyway, everyone seems to agree that the actions of MEPs are pretty much irrelevant even a full quota of UKIP MEPs would make no real difference -- whereas a full quota of BNP MEPs may well get us ejected.

[Soddball]

"Ben Stevenson and the Huntsman - There is n o point in giving a protest vote to UKIP. It will not be noticed by the media and will be totally wasted. However, if you hold your nose and do the unthinkable and vote BNP all those lazy hacks will actually have to think for once and all three main parties will be scared out of their wits.

osted by: christina Speight"

Oh look, that's Ex-UKIP Christina Speight who joined the BNP. Still shilling for the fascists, I see.

[IRJMilne]

"Tory MEPs supported [very dubious] new EU legislation to cut carbon emmissions, promote renewable energy and control the use of dangerous chemicals."

My words in square brackets.

[RichardJ]

"The fact that RichardJ and Ross Warren are screaming blue murder at the mere suggestion of a BNP vote says what I said namely that such a vote would cause "all three main parties to be scared out of their wits."."

I'm not screaming at all, it tends to be you that does all the shouting and screaming. I simply pointed out that a rise in support for the BNP could have some very ugly consequences, an argument you failed to address. If you think an increase in racial tension and racial violence by either whites or non-whites (which is what is sure to happen if the BNP do well) is a price worth paying to get politicians to listen then say so. UKIP might be seen as a joke but they're not a menace.

[Ross Warren]

Christina Speight you are suggesting playing a very dangerous game indeed. The BNP are not BUF there is nothing remotely Conservative about that party. I agree with those who would rather use UKIP as a protest vote (if they must) at least they are genuinely interested in Britain. BNP will only take us further into Europe to join up with their National Socialist Buddies who are doing so well in Russia, Poland and other contemptible little countries.

[christina Speight]

David_at_Home at 13:35. As we all know voting for anybody in the Euro elections doesn't make a scrap of difference (otherwise I wouldn't suggest voting BNP) What it would do is wake everyone up and stop the hacks writing rubbish . The mere fact that the dyed-in-the-wool Tories here who don't think independently are outraged shows I'm right. It's the only way to get something done. It won't be thed BNP who do it - it will be the Tories running scared, which is the object. Do please be logical.

Anyone who knows me knows that my politics since I joined the Tory party in 1947 are conservative and ANTI-EU. The Tories are betraying me on the EU when most Tories are equally against it as I am.

Soddball (good name for you) Don;t talk balderdash.

NOTHING will happen that we want in Europe unless we take drastic action. Anyone got a better idea? Vote UKIP and nobody will notice - they're a speck in the opinion polls and no showing in local elections. The press won't comment. Vote BNP and they'll go beserk

Just hold your collective noses and DO something for once!

[Sally Roberts]

Christina I agree with those who say you are making a terrible mistake in flirting with the BNP! They are Socialists and you will be quickly disillusioned once you have learned more about their policies. Come back to the Conservative Party. I am sure that if you promised not to be openly critical of our Party in future, you would be forgiven and welcomed back.

[pp]

RichardJ

Could you outline the sequence of events that you believe will lead to greater racial tension and violence if the BNP gets support in the EU Parliament?

Who is going to hate whom, who did not before? Who is going to hit whom who did not before?

[Derek W. Buxton]

Sally,
Which "conservative" party would that be, the Europhile one or the other Europhile one. There is not a cigarette paper between the lib-lab-con parties, all three are engaged in selling us down the river. Will they change, not in my lifetime I suspect, they are all bought and paid for. I agree with Christina. I want my Country back and a protest vote is the only weapon we have, no one is listening out there!

[christina Speight]

Sally - I have no intention of rejoining the party EVER. I intend to vote for it in the General Election but on EUROPE they have betrayed me and they continue to do so. They keep making vaguely eurosceptic noises but deliberately avoid hard promises knowing full well that once the euro-elections are over nobody will care a tinker's cuss.

I am acutely aware of how nasty the BNP are and I know their dreadful attitudes (their open policies are pretty anodyne) That's why I am contemplating voting for them for two reasons:
(1) If enough do so the scandal would be immense and things would happen! You tell me another way?

and (2) The tory party has to be punished over this betrayal and voting BNP would scare them more than voting UKIP who are also nasty but ineffectual too.

[Conand]

'campaigned against the two homes for the European Parliament'

Our Conservative MEPs shouldn't travel to Strasbourg.

[Soddball]

"Soddball (good name for you) Don;t talk balderdash.

posted by: christina Speight | April 27, 2009 at 15:17"

Really? Judging by your posts at EUReferendum and other places, I'd say shilling for fascists is exactly what you do. The BNP are fascists, and you're sprinting around the internet, posting everywhere you can find to tell people to vote for them.

[Tim Montgomerie]

Can we get back to the topic now please; ie Tory MEPs, not the BNP!?

[Sally Roberts]

Christina - well I see your mind is made up but, as I said, the scales will fall from your eyes when you learn more about what the BNP really stand for.

Derek W. Buxton - your comment is simply ridiculous and I am not going dignify it with a response. In fact in future there are certain "codes" in people's postings which will alert me that there is absolutely no point in rising to the bait. One of them is the over-used phrase "Liblabcon".

[Shaun Bennett]

Actually these "10 reasons" are just reasons why Tory MEPs should be considered on an equal footing with UKIP.

...I'm not convinced by them.

If you want a good reason to vote Tory it is plain and simply Daniel Hannan. Unfortunately the vast majority of us who live outside the South East haven't got that opportunity.

[pp]

Ok if we accept for a moment that the MEPs are amazingly skilled people...

Why aren't they put to work in the private sector generating wealth to dig this country out of the hole that brown has dug for us?

If they are worth as much as they suggest, how can we allow the wealth generating private sector be denied their skills?

[Charles]

"7. Carbon emissions. The unachievable targets and drive for "green" power using wind farms ... are risible and will be a disaster for us. Ask that sensible MEP Roger Helmer what he thinks about this ..."

Quite right, Edward Huxley! This is a good reason for NOT voting for the Conservative MEPs, just as "EU action on climate change delivered by Labour", cited at the end of Eluned Morgan MEP's truly dreadful Welsh Labour You Tube clip is a good reason not to vote Labour. "EU action on climate change" does for the environment what the Lisbon Treaty does for democracy and Attila the Hun did for horticulture. Many people will be balancing the advantages of replacing most of the Conservative MEPs with UKIP against the threat that it might undermine the Conservative position at next year's General Election.

[ukipwebmaster]

Can't Britain deliver for Britain?
If we weren't in the E.U. all of this would be completely unnecessary.

[christina Speight]

Sally -You don't read what I say. My mind is NOT made up. I'll wait and see what the party does and if it comes clean. I say IF the Tory party doesn't make some definitive promise about a referendum anyway, I do exactly as Hague wants me to - make a protest vote and I can see no more effective protest which people would notice than voting BNP. It's up to the party - produce a policy and publish Mark Francois's interview with Spiegel. Even the blog is chickening out on that!

[Rayatcov]

Ross Warren says
I agree with what your saying RichardJ. The temptation to vote BNP as a protest must be discouraged. The more votes the BNP get the bigger the chance of them making a breakthrough into the mainstream of politics.
As it is the Conservative party should be the first choice party of those who hold our Nation dear.[end]
So I give you this from the EU Referendum site:-
If the established political classes are going successfully to take on the BNP – with the willing assistance of the BBC – then they are going to have to do more and better than sneer and denigrate their members. They are going to have to confront the issues raised by this party, tackle them head on and answer voters' concerns.

But, since so many of those issues are lodged firmly in the "do not discuss" box, the establishment is hoist by its own petard. That leaves it with a failing and soon to be failed strategy, when the BNP romp home with the spoils, capitalizing on the very thing that establishment is so freely offering – disapproval.

[Ross Warren]

"That leaves it with a failing and soon to be failed strategy, when the BNP romp home with the spoils, capitalizing on the very thing that establishment is so freely offering – disapproval."

I Agree with that statement. We have been very slow to acknowledge the anger in this country over Immigration. Of course we are not going to become a racist party, but we have been a strongly Nationalist party in the past and we can be again. It is important that we engage in a political debate with the BNP, and get over the PC Taboo about discussing Immigration, Muslim integration (or its absence) and the erosion of English culture. That's not to say I don't disapprove of BNP, but as you rightly point out that tactic isn't working and is encouraging young activists into their fold.
What became of our youth wing?

[David_at_Home]

I accept that Nick Griffin is not Adolf Hitler and the BNP is not the Nazi Party. Furthermore, it is inconceivable that either could be in a position of power in the UK.

That said, is there not some faint parallel to be drawn between those conservative Germans who voted for the National Socialist Party in the 1930s to keep the Communists out of power and voting for the BNP to give the Tories and/or Labour a fright?

Personally, I believe one should vote for the party which most clearly represents one’s own view. In my case that is UKIP but I respect Tories who stay loyal to their own party provided that they do so in the full knowledge that, with the present Conservative Leadership, we are very unlikely to leave to political EU or even to repeal the Lisbon Treaty should that be fully ratified before the next General Election. Of course, a different Tory Leadership (Dan Hannan?) might take a very different view.

[Derek W. Buxton]

It is a protest vote because we do not trust Cameron, as Ross Warren said, you have been slow to pick up on the anger in the Country. In fact the party does not even acknowledge that it is there, and it is not racist, just revulsion at what the politicians are doing to our Country. MPs, by and large, have forgotten what their purpose is.

[SENTINEL OF HARTLEPOOL]

Brilliant debate, very refreshing to read good banter.
If I can address the topic of 'Conservative MEP's fighting for the UK' my simple response is - NO you aren't, you are propping up the EU, a corrupt institution that has as it's primary objective our abolition as a self-governing nation.
If we were out of that hell-hole then they wouldn't have to fight to protect us from those who wish our demise. Logical really.
Cameron has repeated the pledge of Major and Maggie that under no circumstances would a Conservative government leave the EU.
All promises of a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty is out and out deceit which deserves to be punished at the ballot box.