2008 July 12 | eurealist.co.uk

Conservative Running Interference for the Federalists

John Redwood asks why the English Democrats stood against David Davis in the by-election, and wonders why they would want to stand against an obvious Eurosceptic or his party, a party which has voted No to Nice, No to Amsterdam and No to Lisbon.

Implying that if they stood against Conservative in a general election they will split the Eurosceptic vote, damage the Eurosceptic cause and possibly allow a federalist to win seats.

This view is one I have seen several times on the internet and I believe is built on a few misapprehensions; the first one being that the Conservatives are actually Eurosceptic - I am willing to accept that probably most Conservatives fall into that category, but then they probably always have - but if that is the case, then I can only conclude that the leadership of the party are following a different line on the EU, and probably always have.

Edward Heath took us in and campaigned with the rest of the leadership including Margaret Thatcher for a yes vote in the 1975 Referendum. Margaret Thatcher herself signed the Single European Act, her replacement John Major forced the Maastricht Treaty through parliament on a threat to resign if not backed by the Eurosceptic wing of the party. The only real Eurosceptic leader of the party and the only one elected by all of the members, held his position when there was no chance that the Conservatives could win an election and was summarily dismissed by the parliamentary party, after only 18 months. The present leader has broken one solid promise over the EU already to remove the MEPs from the federalist EPP group in the EU parliament, and is now backsliding on his promise to hold a referendum on the Lisbon treaty.

The Conservatives leadership of today are not offering any real alternative to the EU, or any real mechanism for returning power to Westminster. Preferring instead to put the EU on the back burner so they can concentrate on those things the EU still allows us to do. If you look at their policies on Health, Education or Energy it is clear that they also follow the EU line almost to the letter.

So in reality I do not see that the Conservatives parliamentary party are Eurosceptic, yes they allow the likes of Mr Redwood to make Eurosceptic noises but once elected to office the Eurosceptic wing will find that it will not be their policies that are followed. They will become the new bastards to be pushed to the sidelines as the leadership pursue the Euro federalist line, exactly as they have in the past.

Voting No to EU treaties when in opposition, when they know that there is not a chance of that they can win the vote, is not proof of being Eurosceptic. We need to see some real leadership in the development of policies that reflect and builds on those votes when the Conservative hold power in Westminster.

The Conservatives leadership have yet to formulate anything approaching that stance, preferring to remain in their blinkered state about the EU, what it is and what it is about. As such it is the Conservative party that is splitting the Eurosceptic vote by claiming to be something it clearly is not, and clearly has no intention of becoming. It is the Conservative party that is running interference for the federalists by falsely claiming to be Eurosceptic.

So the major difference between the parties is whatever their electoral chances, the English Democrats are clear about wanting to leave the EU, they do not see the future of this country being best served by our continued membership of a union that is set on the rails of continual political integration.