Liam Fox promises red meat to Eurosceptics

Europe appears to be resurfacing as an issue in the Tory leadership race.  Top Tory donor Stuart Wheeler - who gave the party £5m for its 2001 campaign - has threatened to stop donating if Ken Clarke becomes Tory leader.  On Radio Four yesterday Mr Clarke (pictured with Tony Blair at the late '90s launch of Britain's pro-euro campaign) refused five times to say if his once passionate pro-euro views had changed.

Few, however, can doubt Dr Fox's Eurosceptic credentials.  Today's Telegraph reports that Dr Fox has promised to pull the Conservative Party out of the European Peoples' Party if he wins the leadership.  Conservative MEPs are currently members of the group which recently reaffirmed a commitment to one day realise a United States of Europe.  Promising to pull out of the EPP Dr Fox will highlight the group's beliefs in "powerful trade unions, redistributive taxation and a high minimum wage."

Dr Fox's clear message is warmly received within a Telegraph leading article (and is contrasted with other candidates' alleged fuzziness):

""Change to win," says David Cameron. "Time to win," counters Kenneth Clarke. "Modern Conservatism," suggests David Davis. Thankfully the Conservative leadership election is not a caption-writing competition. Yet, also thankfully, the launch of these underwhelming slogans is offset by a statement of real substance by another candidate.  Most things said by the leadership hopefuls are promises of what they would do in government in 2009 - an event remote in time and, some would say, in possibility. Yet Liam Fox promises to do something within his power as opposition leader this December: to withdraw the Tories from the European People's Party in the European Parliament."

Dr Fox's strong position on the EPP is only the latest example of his "braveheart-spirited" campaign.  He has also adopted courageous positions on abortion and Iraq.  This may attract admiration from core Tory supporters but viewers of 'Yes Minister' will remember that Sir Humphrey's most damning verdict on any policy was to tell his minister that it was "courageous".  A Fox leadership could be hugely controversial amongst the party's Euro-enthusiasts and social libertarians.

Comments

[James Hellyer]

does that make me a right-wing bigot?

Clearly it does. Presumably you only voted for the diet BNP because the real version wasn't fielding candidates in your region! ;=)

and b) your grammar (it's they're not there).

Hypercritical pedantry! Don't you love it?

[James Hellyer]

East Midlands Conservative MEPs Chris Heaton-Harris and Roger Helmer have welcomed Dr Fox's idea:

Liam Fox is the first MP in a generation to see both the problem and the remedy.

http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=132683&command=displayContent&sourceNode=132377&contentPK=13253316

Given Helmer's closeness to Cornerstone (he contributed to their recent book of essays), this could be another indicator that Fox might be about to win their support.

[Sean Garman]

I was initially a strong Davis supporter, but reading more and more speeches, and watching how the frontrunners are vying for the thirty-second soundbite about modernising the Conservatives, I am now beginning to root for Fox as he is the only person talking about what he would actually do.

[Paul Marks]

As has often been said (by better men than me) a poltical party needs certain core principles to unite around (otherwise it is not a really political party at all - it is just a club of people who unite in the hopes of getting some loot from holding office).

In the case of the Conservative party these principles are a belief in limited government and a belief in national independence.

In practice this means trying to put a limit on the ever greater government spending, taxation and regulation that we face, and getting some powers back from the E.U. (as if we do not have the power to govern ourseleves all talk of what we will do or not do in office is without meaning).

Dr Fox has indeed being saying some good things about our objectives in future dealings with the E.U. - and as these countries sell us far more than we sell them threats of trade sanctions, if we do not fall on faces whenever the E.U. asks us to do so, are not realistic (in short negotiations, if undertaken with spirit, have every chance of success).

I am also told that Dr Fox believes in limited government and opposes the vast increase in spending and regulation that has occured under Mr Blair and Mr Brown.

However, Mr Davis also has a long record of opposing the E.U.'s power grabs and a long record of support for limited government (years of attendance at I.E.A. events and so on).

I agree that Mr Davis has been talking rather more reservedly than Dr Fox in recent days, so the question is why is this so?

My guess (it can be no more than that) is that Mr Davis believes that he will face Mr Clarke in the second round and does not wish to say anything that Mr Clarke's supporters could twist and use against him (in order to paint him as an "extremist" and so on).

Now I know some of Mr Clarke's supporters in noninternet life and they are the nicest of men, however some of Mr Clarke's supporters who write in to this website are clearly rather different.

Recently I wrote a comment raising points against their man and they responded with vulgar abuse (I was a "moron" and so on). My judgement is that Mr Davis may be wise to be careful of what he says.

When one is a candidate with a chance of winning (as opposed to a man sitting at a computer - like myself), perhaps it is sensible to be very careful not to give the enemy ammunition.

And make no mistake, Mr Clarke's people (at least some of the people who write in to this website) are just as much the enemy as Mr Blair or Mr Brown.

Of course this leaves aside the question of what happens if these people are defeated. Will they go quietly or will they wait to stike just before the next general election (and try and inflict maximum damage on the Conservative party in order to help the interests they really serve).

Sadly my view is that the latter is more likely.

Mr Brown could greatly reward "Conservatives" who aid him (places on government bodies and so on), but it is mistake to think that these people are all inspired by the desire for loot (and I must stress again that I am only talking about a few of the supporters of Mr Clarke - but though few in number such folk can do great damage).

There is a deep seated inverted idealism in some of them. They support unlimited government and submission to organizations like the E.U. in the same way that a Conservative supports limited government and national independence.

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