ConservativeHome's ToryDiary

Another bad day for the EU

Yesterday was a triple whammy of a bad day for the EU...

ONE: THE IRISH PEOPLE WERE TOLD THEY HAD TO VOTE AGAIN ON LISBON
It's far from clear that Dublin's unpopular government can persuade the Irish to change their vote but William Hague noted the command to vote again as dangerously undemocratic:

"Trying to force the Lisbon Treaty down the Irish people’s throats again is not only a dangerous distraction from that agenda, it is profoundly undemocratic. It is no wonder that the EU is seen as increasingly unaccountable and out of touch if it won’t listen to what people are actually saying. Gordon Brown goes to this summit without any democratic mandate on the Lisbon Treaty. If our unelected Prime Minister insists on forcing the Irish people to vote twice, the case for letting the British people vote once will be morally unanswerable.”

TWO: ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE WILL BE (AT BEST) DILUTED AND DELAYED
The EU likes to lecture the rest of the world on climate change but after years of failing to meet its Kyoto targets it is dangerously close to failing to agree new targets for reductions in its carbon footprint.  If France and Britain cannot persuade Italy and Poland to make economic sacrifices for the sake of the planet then there is next-to-no chance of the much bigger and more important task of persuading India, China and other developing nations.  Ruth Lea warns that Britain is in danger of unilateral economic disarmament on climate changeism:

"Italy’s Sylvio Berlusconi has generally undermined the EU’s climate change policies by saying “our businesses are in absolutely no position at the moment to absorb the costs of the regulations that have been proposed.”  If these positions are maintained, Britain’s hairshirt adherence to draconian carbon reduction policies would mean the country was isolated in its, ultimately futile, attempt to control global man-made carbon emissions – of which Britain accounts for less than 2%."

THREE: THE EURO IS CAUSING SERIOUS ECONOMIC TENSIONS
Forgetting for the moment Germany's "extraordinary" attack on Gordon Brown's fiscal stimulus there is the more important issue of what the euro is doing to certain EU nations.  Individual nations are lacking the monetary policy flexibility that, George Osborne noted, is available to Britain.  Ambrose Evans-Pritchard is one of a very few commentators (Richard North being another) who have connected Greek rioting with the strains of the eurozone.

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I'd probably say the decision of Declan Ganley's Libertas to contest the European Elections was also a fourth bad thing.  The constant splintering of what could loosely be called the Eurosceptic movement is its greatest weakness.

Tim Montgomerie

It appears that David Cameron met José Manuel Barroso last week

A fascinating post from Nick Watt on the Guardian blog this afternoon:

"Amid little fanfare last Friday, Cameron travelled to Brussels to meet José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission. Barroso is hoping for a second term as commission president from next summer; if Cameron is elected prime minister in a spring 2009 election, his support would be crucial."

This is indeed the first I have heard of the visit, which took place the day before the party leader's visit to Belfast, which happened amid a considerable fanfare.

I don't recall seeing any notice about the Brussels trip among the many press releases and operational notes which the party sends out daily, although am happy to be corrected if I am wrong.

Nonetheless, I am curious. I've put in a call to Mr Cameron's spokesman and will let you know what I can find out about their encounter.

Jonathan Isaby

9.45pm update:

I got to speak to aforesaid spokesman at the Policy Exchange Christmas Party, who said that Mr Cameron had gone over to Brussels for a series of private meetings firstly at Nato with the Secretary-General and UK Permament Representative, where issues such as Afghanistan were discussed; he then went for a 45-minute meeting with Mr Barroso, after which he did apparently say a few words for a waiting BBC camera. DC's spokesman said that she would find the transcript of what he said and send it to me - and  I shall publish it if and when it arrives.

George Osborne says recession would be worse if Britain was in eurozone

As reported in this morning's Sun and in a number of other newspapers, George Osborne has reiterated William Hague's pledge that the Tories will not join the euro.  The Shadow Chancellor, speaking to business leaders, explained why (1) the boom would have been bigger if we had been in the eurozone and (2) the route out of recovery would be steeper...

Why the euro would have made Britain less prepared for recession: "The mess that our economy is in is the result of a debt-fuelled boom that Gordon Brown allowed to build up over the last ten years. It was domestic policy failure that gave us those 125% mortgages and more personal debt than any other economy in the history of the world. But monetary policy in the euro area has been ever looser than here in Britain so if we had joined the euro, credit conditions would have been even looser and the bubble could have been even bigger.'

Why the euro would make recovery harder: "Yesterday the Bank of England delivered the kind of rate cut that Conservatives have been urging and that our economy needs. The result is that interest rates in the euro area are now 0.5% higher than they are here, and they have fallen far more slowly. So, if we had joined the euro, rates would be higher now than they need to be to stimulate demand in the British economy. If the last decade has taught Gordon Brown anything it should be that you have to keep control of interest rates and monetary policy."

In conclusion, George Osborne made the political case against eurozone membership:

"The euro has never been primarily an economic project, it’s a political one. Once you share a currency and a central bank the pressures for closer political union become ever more powerful. We’ve seen those pressures operating over the last few weeks with the concerted attempt to deliver a euro-area spending splurge. Given that we are already borrowing more than any major euro area economy, that would be the wrong solution for Britain. Some euro area politicians have stood up to the pressure – the German finance minister said he wouldn’t join the other “lemmings”. But monetary union will only increase the pressure for closer political union. That’s not what the British people want, and under a Conservative Government they can be confident that it’s not what they’ll get. We fought against joining the euro in the past and we will not join the euro - in the present or the future."

EPP proves again that it cannot be trusted

Many Eurosceptic MEPs are increasingly of the view that David Cameron will not take British Tories out of the EPP but will propose a new, strengthened ED sub-group as the way forward.  Charles Tannock MEP was recently seen to pave the way for a compromise option when, on CentreRight.com, he argued against Tory MEPs sitting on their own.  But could we believe in a new deal with the EPP...?

When Michael Howard decided that Conservative MEPs should remain with the EPP in 2004, he negotiated one important new condition: that the “European Democrats” should be allowed to recruit other parties to their pillar without fear of an EPP veto.

The EPP reneged on its part of the bargain when it expelled Roger Helmer from the EPP-ED despite the opposition of British Tories. In other words, far from being able to bring new MEPs into their section, the British Conservatives could not even decide on which of their own Members to keep.

Now, the EPP has abandoned any pretence of respecting an autonomous ED component. Lars Wohlin MEP, a former chairman of the Swedish Central Bank, who sits as a Swedish Christian Democrat, has asked to be reassigned from the EPP to the ED section, on grounds that he opposes the euro and the European Constitution.

The EPP-ED Rules of procedure are quite plain on this point: if that is what an MEP wishes to do, he may do it. But the EPP leadership have said that such a thing cannot happen without a vote of the whole Group; and, so far, they have refused to schedule such a vote.

Until now, supporters of the EPP link have argued that Conservatives have a moral obligation to remain with the federalists because that is what they agreed in 2004. But, now that the EPP has comprehensively abandoned that deal, why should the Conservatives remain bound by it?

Lars Wohlin told ConservativeHome:

“I wished to collaborate with the British Conservatives, because I am more comfortable with their vision of a Europe of nations than I am with the EPP’s commitment to a federal Europe. If anyone in Britain still doesn’t understand why David Cameron has promised to take his MEPs out of the EPP, I hope they will look at my case and reconsider.”

William Hague: There are no circumstances in which the next Conservative Government will propose joining the Euro

The President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, has reignited the debate about Britain's membership of the Euro by telling a French radio station that "the people who matter in Britain are currently thinking about [joining]."

Within the thread for today's homepage Richard Robinson suggests that Lord Mandelson leads those "people who matter".  In 2003, Mandelson linked membership of the Euro to his understanding of centre left politics:

“The euro issue goes to the heart of the UK's national economic interest. But Britain's place in Europe is also at the heart of the left's project in this country. You can be pro-European and not of the centre-left but you cannot be of the centre-left and not committed to Britain playing its full part in Europe. It is fundamental to our ambition of creating a Britain rooted in the best of centre-left values: greater equality, solidarity and opportunity. That's why Labour - as the party of full employment and higher living standards for working people in today's globalised economy - supports European integration and euro entry.”

Interviewed on Saturday, Lord Mandelson renewed his support for the euro but ruled out serious discussion of membership until the current economic crisis had passed.

Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague - whose leadership of the Conservative Party did so much to prevent Britain joing the euro - has reacted by ruling out membership if the Conservatives form the next British Government:

“It is extraordinary that certain politicians are whispering to the EU Commission about joining the euro behind the British people’s backs. Keeping the pound is vital for Britain’s economic future. We need interest rates that are right for Britain, not the rest of Europe.  There are no circumstances in which the next Conservative Government will propose joining the Euro. If Labour ministers still want to get Britain into the euro they should come out and say so. We will be putting questions to the Government to find out what conversations have been going on.”

65% of Tory members recently said that they "never" wanted UK membership of the eurozone.

MEPs begin preparing the ground to remain in the EPP

Update: In this post on CentreRight, Matt Sinclair has highlighted the reactions of MEPs Roger Helmer and Daniel Hannan on this issue.

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Just a day after Timothy Kirkhope returned to the leadership of the Tory MEPs and London MEP Charles Tannock has caused something of a stir with this post on CentreRight, in which he suggests that it would be better for Conservative MEPs to remain in the federalist EPP grouping in Brussels rather than to sit outside any group as non-attached members, in the event of a new group not being formed after the 2009 European elections.

It is well known that for quite a number of the Tory MEPs - particularly those on the europhile wing of the party - there is signifcant resistance to leaving the cosiness of the European People's Party and the patronage it has afforded them.

However, not only is leaving the EPP the right thing to do in principle, but it is was a solid promise made by David Cameron during his leadership campaign and one to which he must be held. The fact that it hasn't happened already is a pity, but with all MEP candidates for next June having signed a pledge to sit in the group in which David Cameron wants them to sit, the ground is being laid for it finally to happen, with much work being done behind the scenes on it by shadow Europe minister Mark Francois and others.

As party leader elected by the mass membership, David Cameron has a mandate for taking the MEPs out of the EPP; our MEPs, who were effectively subject to automatic reselection, do not have the same democratic legitimacy and should bear that in mind if they seek to challenge the party leader's authority on this one.

Given that debate is already raging below Charles's piece, there is no comments thread to this post, so that you can comment below Charles's original piece.

Jonathan Isaby

Timothy Kirkhope returns to lead Tory MEPs for European Elections

This is the official release:

"Timothy Kirkhope elected Leader of Conservatives in the European Parliament

Timothy Kirkhope MEP has today been elected to lead British Conservative MEPs - the largest British delegation in the European Parliament.

Mr Kirkhope will succeed Philip Bushill-Matthews MEP, who will stand down from the European Parliament next June. He has appointed Sir Robert Atkins MEP as his Chief Whip and Philip Bradbourn MEP to a new role relating to Parliamentary Activity.

Richard Ashworth MEP was elected as Deputy Leader of the delegation.

Syed Kamall MEP was elected as Treasurer and the two elected members of the Conservative delegation bureau will be David Sumberg MEP and Martin Callanan MEP.

Mr Kirkhope said:

"It is a great honour to be elected to lead Conservative MEPs, and I look forward to building on the excellent work of my predecessor.

"Conservative MEPs are delivering David Cameron's vision of a European Union that focuses on climate change, global poverty and competitiveness, but which also wants to see powers returned to national governments.

"Conservatives have a positive message for EU reform, so that it responds more effectively to the demands of our citizens without interfering in areas where no value is added. I look forward to taking our positive message to the electorate leading up to the European Parliament elections next June.""

Den Dover MEP expelled for breaking expenses rules

It is being reported by The Guardian (among others) that North West England MEP Den Dover has been expelled from the Conservative Party after being found to have broken European Parliament expenses rules.

Mr Dover - who lost his parliamentary seat in Chorley at the 1997 general election but won his seat in Brussels in 1999 - is reportedly having to pay back £500,000 he claimed in expenses for which he cannot account and will now face an investigation by  the EU's anti-fraud body, OLAF.

He was forced to resign as Chief Whip of the Tory group of MEPs in June when questions were first raised over expenses payments to a company of which his wife and daughter were directors.

The following statement has been issued by Philip Bushill-Matthews, current leader of the Tory MEPs:

"Earlier this year, allegations were made regarding the improper use of Mr Dover's parliamentary expenses. The European parliamentary authorities launched a very thorough investigation, which has now come to an end.

"Today, Mr Dover shared with us the outcome of this investigation. From this, we learned he is required to repay the parliament a significant six-figure sum. On the basis of this information andm after consulting David Cameron, I have instructed the MEPs' chief whip to withdraw the whip from Mr Dover with immediate effect.

"This, in turn, means he will not be a Conservative candidate at the European parliament elections in 2009."

Giles Chichester - who was forced to resign as group leader over similar allegations made at the same time as those against Mr Dover - was recently cleared of any wrongdoing.

Mr Dover's expulsion will mean that Jacqui Foster can expect to rise to third place on the party's regional list for the North West at next June's European elections.

Timothy Kirkhope and James Elles to contest Tory leadership in Brussels

Conservative MEPs will later this month vote for a new leader, who will be in place for the crucial period leading up to - and immediately after - the elections to the European Parliament next June.

Timothy Kirkhope, who was leader of the group from December 2004 until November 2007 (when he was ousted by Giles Chichester) is seeking a return to the job, with one other candidate, James Elles, throwing his hat into the ring.

Neither candidate could be described as an avowed eurosceptic and when the ballot of MEPs takes place on November 18, personal enmities are likely to play just as much a role as policy in deciding how the votes stack up.

However, there is one issue on which any potential group leader's position is vital: his view about David Cameron's pledge to leave the federalist European Peoples' Party faction in Brussels and set up a new group of eurosceptic, free-market MEPs.

65% of Tory members say "never" to Britain joining the Euro

Over the next few days we'll be publishing the results of ConservativeHome's October survey of Tory members.  1,614 gave us their views.

Our first result finds that two-thirds of Tory members are opposed to Britain ever joining the Euro but 30% want to keep options open:

Charles Tannock MEP made this comment last week on a CentreRight thread started by Greg Hands:

"I congratulate Greg Hands as a robust eurorealist for raising this interesting debate as we dont know for sure how the Eurozone will weather the global financial crisis. Some say it saved the Irish economy by preventing a run on their currency others say it is doomed to failure as countries like Spain and Italy have to peel off. As someone who has an open mind about its long term prospects of viability I can only say if the weaker members do peel off the core group will be much stronger making the single curency more robust not less. My understanding is the Conservative Party has formally adopted the tougher IDS position of saying "never" to the single currency as opposed to the earlier policy of William Hague of "not for the duration of each parliament' ie open to peiodic review which I recollect was endorsed by the membership in a referendum, so I cannot see a Conservative government or opposition party under David Cameron ever endorsing such a radical move and certainly not without a referendum which surely the British public would reject. However I agree with Greg that ultimately as we saw in the Eurozone countries citizens were less attached emotionally to their national currencies than many predicted provided the change did not result in inflation which at least at first it certainly did in Germany and Italy (the Teuro phenomenon) as prices were rounded up which was specifically prohibited in Cyprus and Slovenia. So I can see the basis of Greg's conjectures but doubt the PM would wish to lose his place at certain IMF and other international high level economic meetings if the UK abandoned the pound and surely such a move would be deeply unpopular in Britain and seal his fate electorally just as he is seeing a bounce in his favour and putting the outcome back into hung parliament territory."

Russia's neighbours cannot rely on the EU, says Hague

European leaders like to talk about the exercise of soft power but perhaps Europe is simply just soft?

The Telegraph is reporting that the EU is preparing to start negotiations with Moscow on a special partnership deal.  Yesterday Peter Mandelson heralded a thawing of Britain's own relations with Russia.

All so soon after Russia invaded Georgia and Brussels promised a firm response.

Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague worries that such talks would send the wrong message to all of Russia's neighbours:

"It would show Russia that aggression pays off, that Britain and other European countries are incapable of holding a firm line against aggression and that Russia's neighbours cannot rely on the EU to protect them from Russian bullying."

Prepare for next year's European Elections

The biggest electoral hurdle for the Conservatives and the General Election are next June's European Elections.

A strong showing by the Kilroy-Silk-powered UKIP at the 2004 Elections somewhat derailed Michael Howard.  UKIP are a shadow of their former self but the Tories worry about a strong BNP performance.  The BNP won a seat on the GLA during this year's London elections.

It is the duty of the Conservatives to ensure that voters feel their concerns about European integration, immigration and crime are being heard by the mainstream - as well as highlighting other Conservative themes of free trade, concern for the environment and international justice.  Our manifesto for those Elections must have policies in all of those key areas to minimise any swing to the extremes.  A pledge to hold a referendum on Lisbon, a transparency agenda for MEPs' expenses and the Tory plan for a Border Police Force must all feature in our campaign.

Some Tory MEPs favour term limits as a way of stopping their colleagues from 'going native'.  One MEP supports making a link between the UK's budget contribution and improved auditing of the EU budget.

Rupert Matthews, one of our East Midlands MEP candidates, has already been leading a ConHome discussion of what could be included in our manifesto.

> Step 6/10: Conservatives need their own democracy agenda

The European Parliament adopts flag, anthem and other symbols of nation

Beethoven's Ode to Joy will be used to open European Parliamentary sessions.

The EU flag will fly from all parliamentary buildings.

The European Parliament has also endorsed a Europe Day and motto.

A press release from the EPP group welcomed the vote by MEPs:

"The European Parliament today voted on the report on the usage of the symbols of the European Union by the Parliament. The aim of this proposal is that by reinforcing the already-existing symbols, it brings European citizens closer to the common Europe, the roots."

Tory MEPs voted against the adoption of EU symbols; symbols that were included in the Constitution but dropped for the Lisbon Treaty.

Syed Kamall MEP told ConservativeHome:

"The Labour government told us that the Lisbon Treaty was different to the Constitution since the symbols of the EU had been removed from the text.  However, the European Parliament today voted to use these symbols. Another reason not to believe anything the government told us about the Lisbon Treaty being different to the constitution."

The result of the vote to use EU symbols such as the flag, motto and anthem was celebrated by the EPP in its press release, clearly demonstrating that David Cameron is right to take Conservative MEPs out of the EPP.

Tories debate tactics on Ashton nomination

The European Parliament has the responsibility of approving all nominations to the European Commission.  It is one of the Parliament's few real powers - one they famously used to veto Italy's nomination of Rocco Buttiglione.

There is some debate within the Conservative Party about what to do about Gordon Brown's nomination of Baroness Ashton to replace Peter Mandelson as EU Trade Commissioner.

Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague leans to the view that the vacancy needs to be filled as soon as possible and that it is important that Britain retains the post.  He fears a long, drawn-out confirmation process could damage UK interests.

On the other side of the debate a number of Tory MEPs - and the wider European People's Party - have serious doubts as to the suitability of the current Leader of the House of Lords for the post.  One MEP told ConHome that suspicions have intensified after she pulled out of a press conference at which she was to be questioned on her views on trade issues.

But if Tories are worried about Baroness Ashton it could be worse.  Dan Hamilton (who has previously asked if Ashton is even eligible for the position) notes that Ken Livingstone is in the frame for the future.

The very cautious William Hague

Late on Saturday we noted William Hague's response to the crisis in Georgia.  It was, to say the least, cautious.

Mr Hague's intervention contrasts with much more robust statements from other world leaders.  The presidents of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia issued a joint statement condemning 'the naked aggression' of Russia.  John McCain endorsed that statement and identified Russia as the principal villain of the piece.  Dick Cheney has said that Russian aggression must not go unanswered.  David Miliband has "deplored" the shelling of Georgia.

In an excellent piece for Iain Dale's blog, Helen Szamuely notes how Russia has been observing EU weakness for many years now:

"Nothing happened when she broke business agreements and harassed Russian and business firms or when the government acquired control over the Russian media and started limiting activity on the part of others like the BBC Russian Service or when her troops crossed into Transdniestria (in Moldova), Abkhazia and South Ossetia (both in Georgia). The West said nothing when Russian planes started buzzing Georgian territory (and I don’t mean South Ossetian or Abkhazian either) and blowing up various installations; it said nothing when Russia turned off agreed supplies of gas or oil to countries it disapproved of, like the Baltic states, Ukraine and the Czech Republic.

Then came the final surrender: earlier this year at the NATO Summit Germany, France, Spain and the Benelux countries “stood up to the Americans” and did what the Russian government wanted them to do: rejected the notion of putting Georgia and Ukraine on the path to membership. The final communiqué actually reversed that stance and made it clear that NATO will consider this autumn the two countries as potential members but that gave the Russians a time limit on action that they knew they would get away with."

Perhaps it is good politics for the Tories to say little on foreign policy.  To stay out of this dispute.  To refuse to back the surge of troops in Iraq.  To refuse to say whether we'll increase the funding of Britain's overstretched army.  To refuse to say how we want to reshape our relations with the EU.  But a government-in-waiting won't be able to stay quiet forever.

Related link: "Russia has yet to understand its Cold War defeat was moral as well as strategic" says Dan Lewis on CentreRight

"This sceptical isle"

In a big FT magazine feature today George Parker reviews the state of British euroscepticism, concluding that it is a "powerful political force that Cameron will do well to contain":

"David Cameron’s Conservative party is no longer split over Europe. The old pro-European wing has been routed: a Cameron government promises to be the most eurosceptic ever elected in Britain. The only debate is whether the battle with Brussels should take the form of guerrilla raids or a full-scale assault...

Eurosceptics like to point to polls showing headline hostility towards the EU, but deeper analysis shows that the public regard Europe as a marginal issue in their daily lives... Cameron’s problem is that he leads a party that is very interested in the issue. Ken Clarke says that the Tory grass-root members who choose parliamentary candidates will reject anyone who does not claim euroscepticism."

After the media made so much hay over bitter divisions in the parliamentary party caused by the EU, that it can now move forward as one on the issue is a good thing. The election of longtime eurosceptic David Cameron as Prime Minister would bring about a much-needed shot in the arm for democracy and accountability in Britain and the European Union.

Putting eurosceptic words into action will be a challenge but as a cause it is completely at one with the political agenda of devolving responsibility in a post-bureaucratic age, and whilst it doesn't rank above the cost of living in voters' concerns they certainly back it in principle with only 30% of them believing EU membership to be a good thing. Parker does score something of a hit on euroscepetic newspapers like the Sun, Times and Telegraph:

"if they really believed – as they sometimes claim – that Britain is being run from Brussels, it seems curious that none maintains a staff reporter in the EU capital."

The problem is - and this is a big challenge for EUscepticism, unlike the red herring that Parker throws in about the British increasingly liking Europe itself due to cheap flights - that whilst the barely scrutinised flow of legislation and regulation from Brussels is a hugely important issue... it's a very boring one for most people. Struggling newspapers don't even have reporters covering what goes on in the British parliament and British courts anymore, let alone hiring some to report on debates in Brussels and Strasbourg.

See below for Parker's main points on the causes of and challenges for euroscepticism...

Leaving the EPP just got a little harder

Dan Hannan has just blogged the news here but the European Parliament is going ahead with plans that will mean new parliamentary groups will need members from seven nations to gain official recognition.  It was previously just five.  This will make it harder for Conservative MEPs to leave the EPP and form a new group.  Timothy Kirkhope, former Leader of Tory MEPs, was - we understand - a driving force behind the rules change.

> Related link: David Cameron must order Conservative MEPs to vote against new barrier to EPP exit

Cameron announces code for MEPs' expenses

"Conservative leader David Cameron is to launch a new crackdown on his MEPs' expenses later, the BBC has learned.  All Tory MEPs will have to fill out a "right to know form" with details of expenses they have claimed."

Cameron press conference now underway.  More to follow.

3pm: Cameron started off by explaining the "inadequate" and "unacceptable" processes in the European Parliament for dealing with expenses, such as the unaccountable €4000 per month for general expenditure, and saying that his proposals were about "bringing more transparency and honesty to a system that is at best seriously flawed" and needs a "deep clean".

He said he'd worked with both head of compliance Hugh Thomas and sitting Conservative MEPs in drawing up the right to know proposals, and that acting leader Philip Bushill-Matthews will be signing them off with him. The form, adapted from one used for MPs, will come into place on September 1st and details will be published twice a year on the delegation's website.

MEPs will also have to submit an annual statement of expenses to an independent accountant to certify that they comply with both Brussels and Party rules. These statements will have to cover not just what allowances are spent but also what surplus remains. Candidates for the 2009 European elections will have to sign this code of conduct.

From September all MPs will be subject to this code of conduct just as the frontbench is at the moment. Cameron said he would not allow the use of "service companies" and that the name of any paying agent must be declared on the register of interests. Any employed family members will have to be named, together with details about their salary and role.

Asked to comment about the allegations against Caroline Spelman and the Wintertons, Cameron said that he wasn't trying to find one person to burn at the stake and said that these rules - which the other parties haven't gone as far on - were about genuinely trying to sort this problem out for the future.

Editorial comment: "These are good reforms that will put the Conservative Party in the lead in restoring integrity to the way politics is paid for in the European Parliament.  Some Conservative MEPs think the scrutiny that they have been getting is unfair - complaining, not unreasonably, that they are more transparent than most parties (with the exception of UKIP who have been good on this issue) and nationalities.  That may be true but taxpayers' money is taxpayers' money and they should be accountable for how they use it.  There is one big gap in Mr Cameron's proposals, however.  These forward-looking reforms do nothing about the surpluses that many MEPs have already gathered.  There is a history of MEPs not using all of their staffing and general expenses allowances and keeping the balance.  Over the years this has seen many MEPs retire with windfalls of tens or even hundreds of thousands of pounds.  Many sitting MEPs are sitting on very substantial surpluses that should be repaid to the taxpayer."

4pm: Download the Draft Code of Conduct and Right to know form. Transcript of Cameron's statment copied below...

FT leader attacks David Cameron's "posturing"

Not a great press day for the Conservative Party.  The newspapers are full of stories about Ray Lewis.  The Mail, notably, devotes its whole front page to a splash about the "wheels coming off" Boris' Mayoralty.  Completely OTT.

For the second time in a week we also have a newspaper worrying about the depth of the Cameron project.  Earlier in the week it was The Times.  Today the FT devotes a leader to David Cameron's "big flaw"; "posturing".  We can dismiss the section of the editorial that is dedicated to the EU (The FT being Britain's most Europhile newspaper) but some of its other thoughts are more challenging:

"While the Brown government has taken firm decisions on a range of issues – such as the need to develop nuclear energy, the need to expand London’s Heathrow airport and the need to streamline planning laws – the Conservatives sit on the fence. This cannot go on. Mr Cameron is wary about nuclear power, but what would he replace it with? If he is not in favour of expanding Heathrow, which UK airports will he grow to meet capacity constraints? If he is against streamlining decisions for big infrastructure projects, how can he make the UK competitive? The voters deserve an answer."

The Conservative Party has done some hard thinking on UK competitiveness - this week's report on tax simplification being a case in point but we do not yet have an economic policy that is up to the task of restoring the UK's economic competitiveness.  Much more important than the immediate slowdown - significant as that may be - is the longer-term uncompetitiveness created by more than a decade of tax, regulation, bureaucratisation and increased welfare dependency.

'A growth agenda' will be the subject of one of the five essays that we'll be publishing in the week beginning 14th July as part of our 'A Government worth having' series.  In that second week of the series we'll be looking at other areas of policy reform that the Tory leadership has yet to adequately master.  This coming week, however, we'll be identifying five policy areas where Conservative policy is far from "posturing".  The series starts on Monday with an article from Michael Gove on schools policy. 

Stuart Wheeler loses High Court bid to stop ratification of Lisbon

Mr Wheeler has previously said that he would study the judge's verdict before deciding whether to appeal.

10am: Statement from Global Vision:

"Global Vision is disappointed with the ruling today by Lord Justice Richards and Mr Justice Mackay that the Lisbon Treaty is materially different from the Constitution. The Government, therefore, is considered within its rights to break its promise to hold a referendum on the new EU Treaty.

Ruth Lea, Director of Global Vision, said:

“Today’s ruling by the High Court is extremely dispiriting especially as many European politicians have made it quite clear that the Lisbon Treaty is the Constitutional Treaty in all but name. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, for example, said ‘The substance of the Constitution is preserved. That is a fact.’ Indeed British politicians are effectively alone in claiming that there significant differences of substance between the Lisbon Treaty and the Constitution.”

“Under these circumstances, the British people are surely entitled to their referendum on the Treaty as the Irish people did. All our polling shows an overwhelming majority in favour of a referendum.”"

11.10am: Statement from Jim McConalogue of the European Foundation:

“The rejection of both Stuart Wheeler’s case for a referendum and Bill Cash’s application for a case to prevent UK ratification of the Treaty after the Irish vote in the High Court is unacceptable since it is an invitation for the Government to continue the unlawful ratification of this Treaty. The United Kingdom Parliament’s own European Scrutiny Committee already declared the Lisbon Treaty ‘substantially equivalent’ to the EU Constitution, so it is not clear why the High Court would override that parliamentary conclusion. Since the conclusion of Lord Justice Richards and Mr Justice Mackay cannot be reconciled with the fact that the Lisbon Treaty and EU Constitution are ‘substantially equivalent’, I strongly sympathise with Mr Wheeler’s intention to appeal the verdict.”

UK ratification of Lisbon halted by Courts

BREAKING NEWS: The High Court has "invited" the Government to delay ratification of Lisbon until Stuart Wheeler's case is heard.  Gordon Brown, speaking in Brussels, has agreed to the delay.  If he hadn't accepted the "invitation" there was a likelihood that Mr Wheeler's case would have been heard over the weekend in emergency session - rather than next week, as planned.

Speaking to Radio 4's World at One Mr Wheeler said that he was open to appealing the High Court should it rule against his claim that Labour is bound to honour its manifesto commitment to hold a referendum on the EU Treaty/ Constitution.

3.15pm: Statement from Mark Francois MP, Shadow Europe Minister:

“It is absolutely typical that Gordon Brown thought he could just barge ahead and ram this Treaty through while ignoring the High Court. He has been brought up short.  Of course, given that he’s broken his election promise to the British people, Gordon Brown has no moral or democratic right to sign Britain up to the renamed EU Constitution at all. It would be the height of arrogance and incredibly undemocratic if the Irish people were made to vote twice when the British people haven’t even been allowed to vote once.”

Cameron at PMQs: It would be ridiculous to ask the Irish people to vote twice when the British people haven't voted once

1.30pm: Watch highlights of the exchanges.

Highlights, not verbatim:

12.26pm: Great question from Michael Spicer: Why are there always so many strikes at the end of a Labour government?

12.23pm: In response to a question from Labour's backbenches Gordon Brown says that the Conservatives are taking risks with the fight against crime and against terrorism by questioning the value of the DNA database and of CCTV.

12.15pm: Nick Clegg urges the PM to enact a windfall tax on the energy companies so that poorer households can be given better insulation and smart meters.  Brown says that the Government is already doing much to help poorer families with their energy bills.

12.12pm: Cameron calls for leadership from Brown but jokes that there is more spine in jellyfish than on Labour's frontbench.  Brown quotes Ken Clarke's view that a referendum would be "crackpot", "dotty" and "absurd".  He urges David Cameron to lead his party away from the Euroscepticism of the Conservative backbenches.

12.10pm: The Irish people have spoken.  They've said "no" says David Cameron.  What part of "no" doesn't he understand?  Brown responds by reminding the House of John Major's words when he urged continued ratification of Maastricht after the Danes had said "no".

12.09pm: Wouldn't it "ridiculous" and "high-handed" Cameron continues, to ask the Irish to vote twice when the people of Britain haven't had an opportunity to vote once?  Have the courage to declare it dead, urges the Tory leader.

Only 29% of Britons support full EU membership

On behalf of Open Europe, YouGov polled 1,000 people overnight and found the following results:

54% agreed with the statement that "The government should drop the Lisbon Treaty and not try and ratify it".

Just 14% agreed that "The government should carry on and ratify the Lisbon Treaty in the UK". 

Labour voters are 46% to 19% against continuing ratification of the Treaty.

29% said that "The UK should stay in the EU".

38% said that "The UK should stay in the single market but pull out of the other political elements of the EU".

24% said "The UK should leave the EU altogether".

65% agreed with the statement "The EU is out of touch with normal people".

88% said they could not name any of their MEPs.  Among those who did attempt to name some of their MEPs, the most popular choice was "Neil Kinnock".

Related link: William Hague responds to David Miliband's statement on the Lisbon Treaty

Cameron "delighted" at Irish "no"

You bet he is.  Ireland's "no" means he's off the hook - at least for now - on the whole post-ratification referendum debate.  The Conservative leader's full statement is published below the smile.

“I’m delighted with the news. People in Ireland have sent the clearest possible message. They do not want this treaty, they do not want this Constitution and by all rights now it should be declared dead. The French said no to it, the Dutch said no to it and it was brought back and the only people who’ve been given a chance to pass judgement on it, the Irish, have now said no to it.

“I think the elites in Brussels have got to listen to people in Europe who do not want endless powers being passed from nation states to Brussels. They do not want these endless constitutions and treaties.

“And I have to say it is the height of arrogance for Gordon Brown and our Government to press ahead with ratifying this treaty and flying in the face of public opinion. The Prime Minister should come to the House of Commons on Monday and explain in a statement what he proposes to do. Part of that statement is that if this is not dead, we must be able to have a referendum in this country so that we have the chance to pass judgement on this treaty.”

The only nation that had a chance to vote on Lisbon, has voted "no"

Thank you Ireland.  Thank you.

12.52pm: Douglas Carswell MP on CentreRight: "Ireland has benefited from Euro squillions.  Her political / media establishment, like our own BBC, was almost universally behind the well-financed "Yes" campaign.  Yet still the Irish have said "no"."

1.07pm: Open Europe live blog: "Mark Mardell reports that the no are winning on News 24.  He says Brown phoned Sarkozy to say that he would press ahead with ratification in the event of a NO. That would be total madness - surely? But lets not count chickens here - still think its going to be a yes."  What arrogance!

1.25pm: EU Referendum has a very good live blog.

1.26pm: Hilarious exchange on Five Live between Open Europe's Neil O'Brien and Europhile Denis MacShane MP.  Neil kept asking MacShane if Labour would now withdraw the Lisbon Bill from its last parliamentary stages.  Refusing to answer the question he launched attacks on Neil O'Brien as a "fanatical" Eurosceptic!  He stormed out of the studio.  Bad loser, Denis.

1.39pm: Congratulations to the people of Ireland, who have struck a blow for Europeans everywhere. Despite what the “yes” campaign said, Ireland is now closer to the heart of Europe than ever: never has it been so popular.  Congratulations, too, to the friends of Irish democracy from outside Ireland who supported the “no” campaign and made it impossible for the other side to argue credibly that a “no” would leave Ireland isolated. ConHome can now reveal that the Tory MEP, Daniel Hannan, was behind the embassy vigils throughout Europe, which saw crowds assemble at 40 Irish embassies and consulates across the continent to urge a “no” vote. Daniel is quite a veteran of European referendums, having campaigned for “no” votes in Denmark, Sweden, Spain, France, Malta and Estonia, too.  He and other Euro-sceptic MEPs contributed to a series of fact-sheets in Ireland about the Lisbon Treaty, whose aim was not to tell people to vote “no”, but to disseminate information about its content and so depreciate the turnout on the “yes” side. It seems to have worked!  Read Dan's blog of today's result.

3pm: Global Vision's Ruth Lea has sent us this statement:

"If, as seems likely, the Irish vote “no” to the Lisbon Treaty it confirms the extreme unpopularity of this treaty with the people of Europe. We should also remember that both the French and the Dutch voted against the Constitution, effectively the same as the Lisbon Treaty, in 2005. Surely it is time the British people were allowed their say on the treaty.

It is clear that the EU’s integrationist project is fatally unpopular and, hence, fatally flawed. The EU should have a major rethink on the future of the EU. It needs to embrace a more modern, looser approach and be prepared to accept that some countries, whilst happy to have a relationship with the EU, do not wish to be part of ever-closer political and economic integration. Britain is clearly one such country."

5.25pm: William Hague has issued the following statement:

"“The Irish people have spoken and they have made clear that they do not want a Treaty that takes so many powers from the countries of Europe and gives it to distant institutions in Brussels. Despite all the threats that have been made they have had the courage to make their own decision. They deserve Europe’s admiration and congratulations.

“Alone in Europe they have had the chance to make their views known. If democracy in the EU is to mean anything their decision must be respected. The Republic of Ireland’s voters must carry no less weight than the Dutch and French.

“The British Government must respect the Irish people’s verdict. Ratification of the Lisbon Treaty in Parliament must be stopped immediately.

“The renamed EU Constitution should now be finished. But, as we know from last time, even after two ‘no’ votes the original Constitution was brought back under another name. And there are now no excuses left for denying the British people their say. So unless it is agreed that this Treaty is dead and buried it is essential that the British people have their say. There is no justification for the Irish people being allowed their say while the British are denied theirs.

“Gordon Brown must now come to the Commons on Monday to make a statement on what the Government will do next.

“This is a great day for Britain and the peoples of Europe. Now is the time to end the old top down Europe which the Irish have so decisively rejected. It is time to renew the European Union on respect for its peoples’ wishes.”

8.30pm: No flags!  Earlier this afternoon the EU flag that normally flies on the EU Parliament's building in London was taken down.  We fear it was just for a spring clean rather than a full retreat.