Labour Offering An EU Referendum Is 'Silly' - Ed Balls

Ed Balls has come out of the wood work today to say Labour offering an EU referendum is 'silly'. Is it just me or is this guy actually deliberately trying to lose votes?

This comes after Len McCluskey has said Labour should offer an EU referendum or risk being 'boxed in' during the 2015 election campaign. For once I agree with Len. Over half of the British people want a referendum on Europe and in a close General Election race this could prove decisive. Labour may also start to win some of their voters back, they have as big a problem with UKIP as the Conservatives in many marginal seats leave alone socialist heartlands like Rotheram where UKIP won a huge amount of council seats this year.

For once I agree with Len.

There is also a risk that Labour could be the only party not offering an EU referendum at the next General Election. The Conservatives, UKIP and many minor parties will for sure, but rumours in Lib Dem HQ are that they will offer a referendum too.* In the end Len may force Labour's hand; he is bank rolling their whole General Election campaign after all. Of course this would make Ed Balls' comments look even more 'silly'.

Own Goal by not backing a referendum on the EU.

One other question that needs answering is why is Ed Balls, as Shadow Chancellor, in Labour's 'economic week', talking about an EU referendum? Is that really on topic? Ed Balls should be talking about you know the economy. Perhaps it is that Labour has got nothing to say on Economy and must resort to following the Conservatives in only talking about their policies? This seems most likely. At least we know one thing, it's one great Balls up.



*Not that anyone will believe them after they have already under Cleggers promised a referendum and deliberately broke that in government.

The EU Referendum Bill Returns

Today the EU Referendum Bill returns. The Private Members Bill sponsored by Bob Neill MP, Bromley and Chislehurst, and backed by the whole Conservative Party will for the second time receive its first reading again.

Dave and the Rest of the Conservative Party are backing the EU Referendum Bill. Are you?

The EU Referendum Bill was first introduced by James Wharton MP, Stockton South, in 2013 to show the Conservatives commitment to holding an In/Out referendum on European Union membership. The Bill will state that a referendum must held before 2017 and, although no parliament can bind its successor, a future Parliament would have to overturn this Bill not to be bound by it.

James Wharton with John Redwood supporting an EU Referendum for Britain.

The EU Referendum Bill has already had a tough ride. The Liberal Democrats and Labour Party refused to support the Bill in the House of Commons chamber but tried to talk out the Bill during its committee stage. This point was passed however after many long nights of Lib Dem and Labour MPs adding pointless amendments which had to be all voted upon and taking for hours about trivial historical information on the 31st of December. Sadly though the Bill did not pass in the House of Lords where the Lib Dems and Labour Party did indeed vote this Bill down. The Wharton Bill was no more.

But now it is back. The House of Lords, under the Parliament Acts, can no longer stop this proposed Bill. The Prime Minster and the Commons can choose to override the House of Lords if it again votes down the EU Referendum Bill. The only place this Bill can now be killed off is in the House of Commons. Is Ed Miliband strong enough to get his MPs to vote against an EU referendum? Unlikely.

Bob Neill jubilant over his major part in the #LetBritainDecide campaign.

Bob Neill has an article in the Daily Express today saying 'This isn’t a Bill that will mean Britain leaves the EU or stays in it. It’s a Bill to end the cancer that has eaten at our democratic life for more than a generation: that of the political elite refusing to let the people decide – after renegotiation – Britain’s future relationship with Europe. We believe it’s such a fundamental decision that the choice should rest with the whole electorate.'

It is only the Conservatives who will #LetBritainDecide by giving you a referendum on Europe and by the end of this Parliamentary session this commitment is likely to be enshrined in statute. You can help the Conservatives and Bob Neill by co-sponsoring the EU Referendum Bill here.

Thoughts On Juncker

The whole Juncker saga over the last week or so has really made an impact on our future in the EU, and its not wholly because arch-federalist Jean Claude Juncker is the new President. Not only has Andre Walker got a new person to ask the British public "do you know who this man is", but we know that not much can change in the EU because of the leaders of Europe.

Only two countries out of twenty eight in the EU voted against Jean Claude Juncker being appointed as EU President. This shows that either the vast majority of European leaders are committed to greater political integration to form a federal Europe or that many of the leaders of 'Eurosceptic countries' are too cowardly to try stop the EU. Personally, I think it is a bit of both. Even if the Swedes, Germans and Dutch did vote against Juncker the majority of EU countries still back greater powers going to the EU.

Who wears the trousers in Europe now?

Of course the Germans may have been able to make a difference in selecting a different President but they weren't going to even though it is believed Angela Merkel actually didn't want Jean Claude Juncker. I agree, for once, with Jermey Hunt. European leaders were 'cowardly'. How can we hope to get any substantial change in Europe with these weak leaders? There is no support to change from the path of moving as quickly as possible to the ultimate goal of the Treaty of Rome of political integration.

No one except David Cameron will stand up to 'ever closer union' in Europe.

No one in the EU with any major power apart from the United Kingdom wants to make changes to Europe from fear of the geriatric Brussels bureaucracy or a real desire to bring about much closer integration. Angela Merkel said after the Juncker vote that "There can be different speeds for member countries to adopt come to ever closer union ... It was made clear, yet again, that the idea of an ever closer union as it is stated in the treaties does not mean that there is equal speed among member countries." But people of the UK do not want a slower descent into the pit of political union, we want a reversal and for it to stay like that.

I admire David Cameron in standing up what was right here. Juncker will only make the effect of the EU on Britain much worse and it was thus right for the PM to do all he could to stop him. Dave knew that he was unlikely to win but he did what was right for the nation. But if anything this shows that you cannot beat Brussels at their own game. We're not going to get anything that we want from negotiation with Brussels and thus we should leave the EU. Dave will try to renegotiate and a large proportion of people still want him to have the chance to do so. But all it can is prove for once and for all we're better off out. Thank god the Conservatives will allow us to do that with a referendum and hopefully the Prime Minister will ask the country to back an EU withdrawal.

Voting Time For The Euros

Today I sent off my postal vote for the European elections and surprise, surprise I voted for the Conservatives.

A very long list of choices.

With such large constituencies for the Euro elections the ballot paper was over a foot long. Parties such as the 'harmony party' we're appearing on the ballot to try make a break through into politics. Another interesting new party is called 'An Independence From Europe'. This party is filled with all the cast offs from UKIP who now hate the party for a large number of reasons. Furthermore the party is first on the ballot paper, a cunning use of 'an' when it wasn't really needed. I bet UKIP are very happy with this.

So why am I voting for the Conservatives? As many you will know I do not like the European Union in its current state. In fact if I had a choice I'd definitely leave the EU now. I'm not really worried about immigration, although there are some problems there, what I worry about is trade. We are essentially in a European cartel which barely trades with anyone outside of Europe. Not a good idea when the European economy is shrinking faster than a mock Nick Clegg in a Labour party political broadcast. The future is global trade and we need to embrace that if we want to continue to have a high standard of living in this country.

Thank god then the Conservatives will let me have a say on Europe. I, like a very large portion of the population, have never had a vote on a signal thing about the EU. It's time I am allowed, with the rest of Britain, to tell politicians what I think. We should back this referendum en masse to make sure it happens. A vote for UKIP in the Euros is not going to make sure Dave has this referendum even more. He wants to and will do it. All it will mean is worse MEPs in Brussels which will be brilliant when it comes to trying to re-negotiate and maybe leave the EU. A worse position for Britain all around.

I've done a fair bit of campaigning for the Euros with two of my friends who are both 5th on the Conservative list to become MEPs. Tom Hunt, in the East, and Brendan, in the East Midlands, have been very active in trying to get people to vote for the Conservatives.

Tom out campaigning in Peterborough.

Brendan at the pub in Wollaton.

So what are the Conservatives chances of doing well in these elections? Well don't get your hopes up, despite my impassioned plea a lot of people will still be voting UKIP. Why? It's a protest and people never care about European elections very much. People in an office very far away make decisions not many people have influence over so its seen an election that doesn't really count (although considering the up and coming referendum it really does this time). The Conservatives have been third in most of the polls. However, recently things have got better with an ICM poll putting us first on 27%, I was very surprised. Maybe Labours terrible EU campaign and a bit of a re-invigoration of what the Tories are doing is making a difference?

Perhaps then things are picking up. I doubt we'll win but it does seem the message of only the Conservatives can offer you a referendum on the EU is working. Please go out there and vote Conservative to bring this goal closer.

Weekly Poll Lowdown

Democracy lives on through #ThingsElliottSays' weekly poll. 69% of you want there to be a referendum on the EU. 31% are either Lib Dems or members of the House of Lords, that fine democratic institution. But it's good to see that roughly you're on the money when it comes to public opinion. The Let Britain Decide Literature proudly boasts that 62% of people want a referendum on Europe according to YouGov. 70% was also the average amount of people who wanted a vote on the EU when the People's Pledge conducting a few polls in marginal constituencies up and down the country.

Should we Let Britain Decide over Europe?

Yes	69%
No	31%
Unsure	0%

Total votes: 65

It will come as no surprise to you that I would like to see a referendum on the EU. For far too long we have had no say on the matter and considering, either through deception or massive evolution, the EU is no longer the trading bloc we signed up to in the 1970s we deserve to say whether we should be in it or not. In a truly functioning democracy I think people deserve a say. That is why I think Labour and the Lib Dems are making a big mistake over this referendum.

The Lib Dems, although they are trying to chase the people who are solid Europhiles, are not actually defending their beliefs. Challenging Nigel Farage to a debate on LBC and saying the odd word about how we must stay in Europe is not going to win them many of these votes. What a Europhile voter would respond to the best, even if they don't per se want a referendum*, would be to engage with the Let Britain Decide campaign by backing a referendum in the House of Commons. A robust defence of the European Union could see us stay inside it. There is undoubtedly going to be an EU referendum now but the decision to leave is by no means decided and is a very big ask. Its not like this tactic hasn't been tried in some way with great success by the Lib Dems before.

Don't you wish the Lib Dems would keep to their promises.

Labour too have missed a good chance because they could have essentially nulled any polling gain the Conservatives could have from this referendum. As polling suggests time and again Europe is not the biggest problem as seen by the average voter. This is mostly because the EU is actually fairly distant in a lot of respects to everyday life, not that everyone over a copy of a newspaper doesn't have a breakfast table moan about the EU with an inevitable article everyday. But people still care and there is a small but not insignificant amount of voters who do have the European Union as a top priority especially when combined with immigration. If Labour wants a realistic majority, because their 35% strategic will not work depending on how well previous Lib Dem voters dig in, they need to try win back some of the people concerned with Europe and immigration that follows from it.

This man, who lined his pockets with millions from Brussels, may be a reason why Labour won't back a referendum.

I would be surprised if all the main parties do not have a referendum in their manifesto for these reasons; although stranger things have happened. Personally I am very likely to vote out, Dave will have to get a lot back if he wants my vote in 2017. When trade is shrinking inside the EU and the rest of the world is booming, what's the point of shackling ourselves to a cartel?

Vote in the New Poll.

* A fair proportion of those who want a vote have already decided they want to stay in Europe but want people to voice their opinions.

Out and About with Euro Elections Candidate Cllr Tom Hunt

My good friend Cllr Tom Hunt who is the youngest person standing for the Conservatives in the European elections has been a very busy man. He has probably done more travelling than Marco Polo in the last few months in trying to hear the views of people in the Eastern Region. He really does put the effort in. So what are just some of the things he has been doing recently.

Tom has been to the Jonas seafood crab factory in Cromer, North Norfolk with Vicky Ford MEP. Tom has told me that 'Reform of Common Fisheries Policy is key' and something that he would focus on if he were to be elected to fight the Brussels elite. The best thing about this picture though in my opinion is Tom's hat.

After the recent Floods in December, Tom went with the leader of North Norfolk Council and Vicky Ford MEP to inspect the damage and come up with a plan to help people.

Tom visited the European Parliament to meet the British representatives at the European Young Farmers Congress. East Anglia has a lot of farming and it is good to encourage more young people to take up the job and feed the nation.

The ever active Tom has also been across the region campaigning in local markets with stalls such as this one. No doubt he is hammering the message home that only under the Conservatives will you be able to decide whether you want to be in the EU or out. This campaigning day was with Lucy Frazer who is the new South East Cambs PPC. 

Tom went to the Rochford and Southend CF Soap Box night with Geoffrey Van Orden MEP and Jackie Doyle Price MP. Also there was YBF heartthrob Rory Broomfield from the Freedom Association and Alex Bright, NUCA's own treasurer.

Tom here is showing solidarity with Essex University CF who have campaigned to repeal the ban on flying the Union Flag on top of their university library. Essex SU voted to ban the flag because it apparantly symbolised Britain's colonial past, of course that's just Leftie nonsense. Click here for more on this story.

Tom also visited the University of East Anglia's freshers fair to promote the Conservative message on campus. The photo is taken with Chloe Smith MP and two members of the CF group. Tom has been to every university freshers fair in the East.

And finally here is Tom with Dave, who visited Norwich in January. I love Tom's tie by the way; let's hope it becomes a feature of the campaign trail.

Make sure you vote for Tom and the Conservatives in the European Elections later this year.

The EU Abandons Gibraltar

The EU today has officially abandoned the people of Gibraltar and their democratic right to self determination (not that it ever believed in democracy in the first place).

Despite a flagrant abuse of restricting the borders by Spain, under the guise of cigarette smuggling, the EU has said that no laws have been broken. The bonkers EU Commission said today it had "not found evidence to conclude that the checks on persons and goods as operated by the Spanish authorities at the crossing point of La Línea de la Concepción have infringed the relevant provisions of Union law."

The People of Gibraltar want to be British and its shocking how the EU will not deal with Spanish despotism. 

So who do the EU commission criticise for the massive queues in Gibraltar, yes the British/Gibraltarians. They say we should "develop risk-based profiling (in particular Gibraltar should ensure non-systematic and risk analysis-based checks on travellers and their belongings upon exit from Gibraltar at the crossing point of La Línea de la Concepción); optimising legislation and safeguards in view of contributing to an efficient fight against tobacco smuggling; and develop the exchange of intelligence on tobacco smuggling with Spain."

This is just another reason why we should leave the EU because they have no respect for Gibraltar and it's democratic rights. The Spanish has clearly attempted a semi-siege on Gibraltar to try and woo the people of Spain who are crippled by sky high unemployment. To me this is just another reason to leave this anti-democratic institution.

Socialist #Shame

Labour are apparently changing their attitude to James Wharton's Bill on the EU Referendum. Labour backbenchers are trying to make out that their party, both members and leadership, are slowly changing what they think about a vote on Europe. Sadly they are very wrong and thus I say to the whole Labour Party, in Port and Policy style, #Shame.

Port and Policy #Shame to Labour.

For starters the Labour Party wanted its MPs only to abstain at the second reading of the EU referendum Bill. Which is fine if you want to show the world a lack of spine. However, several Labour MPs voted for no guillotine motion on the Bill meaning they were attempting to filibuster the Bill to death. Which shows how great democracy is appreciated by some of our elected representatives. These MPs were:

Diane Abbott, Hackney North & Stoke Newington

Douglas Alexander, Paisley & Renfrewshire South

Heidi Alexander, Lewisham East

Jonathan Ashworth, Leicester South

William Bain, Glasgow North East

Luciana Berger, Liverpool, Wavertree

Lyn Brown, West Ham

Alan Campbell, Tynemouth

Wayne David, Caerphilly

Thomas Docherty, Dunfermline & West Fife

Jim Dowd, Lewisham West & Penge

Michael Dugher, Barnsley East

Jim Fitzpatrick, Poplar & Limehouse

Mike Gapes, Ilford South

Meg Hillier, Hackney South & Shoreditch

Julie Hilling, Bolton West

Huw Irranca-Davies, Ogmore

Graham Jones, Hyndburn

Susan Elan Jones, Clwyd South

David Lammy, Tottenham

Ian Lucas, Wrexham

Kerry McCarthy, Bristol East

Andrew Miller, Ellesmere Port & Neston

Stephen Pound, Ealing North

Emma Reynolds, Wolverhampton North East

Nick Smith, Blaenau Gwent

Mark Tami, Alyn & Deeside

Stephen Timms, East Ham

Karl Turner, Kingston upon Hull East

Chris Williamson, Derby North

Phil Wilson, Sedgefield

Rosie Winterton, Doncaster Central

To these Labour MPs we say jointly #Shame. I hope your constituents remember this well.*

 James Wharton MP is the lucky person having to deal with the shameful Labour MPs trying to wreck the Bill.

But the disgrace becomes greater because Labour and Lib Dem MPs are now attempting to filibuster the Bill in committee stage. Over 20 amendments had be proposed to the Bill some doing things as trivial to change the date. The debate went on for hours with one MP commenting on the historical significance of the date of the 31st December. This was planned to go on through the night and diaries were rearranged for the next day. Yesterday however at 1am the committee finished. James Wharton tweeted of the event 'Finally making progress on EU Ref Bill committee, should get through a few amendments and be well placed to return in Sept #LetBritainDecide.' I do not envy his position doing this again in October.

The EU Referendum Bill is going to have to stay for a very long time a committed stage the way the socialists are behaving. 

To all those Labour and Lib Dem filibusterers #Shame. The people if this country should have their say.

*I would like to point out there are 6 Labour MPs who I exclude from any #Shame because they voted for the EU Referendum Bill. These are: 

Roger Godsiff, Birmingham

Kate Hoey, Vauxhall

Kelvin Hopkins, Luton North

Dennis Skinner, Bolsover

Graham Stringer, Blackley & Broughton

Gisela Stuart, Birmingham, Edgbaston

'Historical Error'

Yesterday saw a victory, just, by England in the cricket against the Australians. Hurray! I was not there to see it, although Trent Bridge is pretty near to Nottingham Uni and I have been before. But someone I have met at Trent Bridge before was there and that was Ken Clarke MP. But as well as watching cricket Ken has been busy telling us that we should never, ever, consider leaving the EU as it would be a 'historical error' and does not back 'unilateral repatriation of powers'.

Ken was yesterday spotted getting a drink as well as asking for money for his carpet that was ruined by Bukkake.

I'm always very confused by Ken Clarke because when he's talks about the fixing of our economy back in the 1980s, where he played a part, he rightly points out how uncompetitive Britain was and the need to deal with inflation. Yet at the same time he wishes to push us closer to a Europe which is plainly uncompetitive and can only have a negative effect on our economy. He also is one of the rare few who still backs the decision to go into the Euro and thinks the ERM was a good idea; but we need need this monetary control to help our economy at the moment. Unsurprisingly Ken did not back the bill on the EU referendum.

Ken Chillaxing at Trent Bridge a few days ago.

Because of Ken's bizarre set of views its no surprise that Ken is fronting the team with Peter Mandelson and Danny Alexander to make sure UK stays in the Euro. These last two are people that any other Conservative would spurn when taking a podium with them on the matters of Europe because they are both solidly for Britain joining in with the up and coming political union. Mandelson spent many years as a European Commissioner whilst Danny Alexander is a Lib Dem.

These three have produced a manifesto for staying in the EU where they want no particular change except they want the EU to be 'leaner and meaner', emphasis on the meaner. Despite the popular distress from extra powers not wanted from Brussels that are constricting the economy and people's everyday lives, Ken wants to remain 'doggedly engaged in Europe'. Ken isn't fooling anyone however because we know that him and everyone else in this group want to remain in Europe and want to go fully in. If the 'In' camp wants to win the referendum in 2017 I'd keep those who believe in moving closer into Europe away.  

I'm quite disappointed with Ken because I like him, I just dislike many things he stands for which is a real shame. 

Ken smoking a Churchillian Cigar.