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This Sceptic Isle

Ukip Uncoverd has the full transcript of ‘This Sceptic Isle’ the programme was broadcast on BBC Radio Four 4th January at 8:00 pm. Introduced by Ruth Lea it at least allows coverage of the sceptic argument on the EU. Among the interviewees is Trevor Kavanagh editor of the Sun the news paper the Euphiles love to hate, who says..

“The Sun is not a knee-jerk xenophobic newspaper which tries to just campaign on emotional issues like the question of whether the Queen’s head should be on the pound note or the euro coin. What we want to do is to raise the genuine and legitimate argument about the way Europe is governed by an unaccountable, undemocratic and remote bureaucracy, and the fact that there is a democratic deficit that even Brussels acknowledges but will do nothing about.”

Tell that to Britain in Europe or even the EU Commision, who are so worried that newspapers like the Sun are fouling the ground for the EU`s own propaganda that they have set up their own rebuttal departments to counter the stories these papers publish.

There was some balance in the program with inclusion of EU supporters Lucy Parl BIE and Charles Grant Centre for European Reform, but the main voice was that of varying shades of Euscepticsism with Roger Knapaman, Teddy Taylor, Lord Pearson, Daniel Hannan, Marc Glendenning all adding slightly different angles to the debate.

One area explored was the fact that people like Roger Knapman UKIP were happy to go along with the government’s and now the EU`s claim, that the referendum is in fact a question of our involvement in the EU, and that a no vote will somehow result in Britian leaving the union. I feel this is a very bad tactical error because a no vote will not result in the government accepting that as the final word from the British people. Tony Blair has already said as much, inferring that it would instead result in a further referendum; the only thing that could possibly stop that, would be if the No was massive. The government are playing a game of frightening the children by suggesting that, as the likely outcome, in the hope that it will make people vote yes even if reluctantly. The fact is there will be one question on the ballot paper, and it will not be about Britain staying in the or coming out of the EU, it will be about further integration, it is therefore tactically stupid to assist the government and the EU by campaigning for a question we are not being asked. Marc Glendenning from the Democracy Movement said of the Ukip Position “Their leadership has been confirming or helping to bolster the government’s strategy, which is utterly insane in relation to the actual objective of getting Britain out of the European Union.”

A fear was also expressed by Trevor Kavanagh and Lord Pearson that a French No would be worse for Eusceptics than a French Yes, rather interestingly Pearson’s said “I think if France votes No, it really does throw the whole thing back into the melting pot. And what I fear if France votes No, is that we would be back into another intergovernmental conference, which would produce yet another Treaty, amending the existing treaties, producing but far more cunningly, the same effects of the present Constitution. And if all the eurocrats and the political elite of Europe would claim that the people had won a great victory and look this was all entirely different and this is alright, isn’t it, and then that would be ratified, in the same process by the governments signing up to it, the executive signing up to it and Parliament becoming a rubber-stamp, and the people being entirely excluded which is what’s been happening for the last 40 years. These people are in no hurry to achieve their European dream, they’ve taken 40 years to get where they are, they are quite happy to spend another 5, if necessary.”

The last point is extremely important to understand, because Lord Pearson is right, that those who are working towards a united Europe are very happy to wait for the right time to advance their toward their goal, even if it means waiting years for certain blocking politicians in member states, to reach the end of their time in power, they have done this before and will do it again. On a personal level it would be preferable to get this sorted out now, one way or the other because Britain’s involvement in the EU is draining the will of the British people to stand up for themselves as a nation, and is making liars of our own politicians who keep insisting they are in charge.