Quote of the day Sunday 28th September 2014
“Extraordinary people survive under the most terrible circumstances and they become more extraordinary because of it.”
( Robertson Davies )
( Robertson Davies )
Nick Herbert on his visit to flood hit areas of Cumbria
Please note that the post below was published more than ten year ago on 21st November 2009 Nick Herbert MP, shadow cabinet member for the Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, was in Cumbria this morning to see the areas affected by the flooding. He writes on Conservative Home about his visit. Here is an extract. I’ve been in Cumbria today to see the areas affected by the floods. I arrived early in Keswick where I met officials from the Environment Agency. Although the river levels had fallen considerably and homes were no longer flooded, the damage to homes had been done. And the water which had got into houses wasn’t just from the river – it was foul water which had risen from the drains. I talked to fire crews who were pumping flood water back into the river, and discovered that they were from Tyne & Wear and Lancashire. They had been called in at an hours’ notice and had been working on the scene ever since, staying at a local hotel. You cannot fail to be impressed by the
Comments
as you pointed out Ed Balls certainly did a couple of days ago.
Now it seems Mark Reckless is doing the same.
If you want a referendum before circa 2022, then, odd as it seems, Cameron is actually the best option. Not because I trust him, I dont really, but because he has burned too many bridges on it. If he were to reign in on that, then his own party would tear him to shreds, let alone the general public.
well, should Labour achieve a majority, here is a senario.
Obviously no in/out referendum in 2017, but also early on in their term I can almost predict a speech along the lines of "cutting back on meaningless legislation, the referendum lock being one of those, as its not needed, "the people have already spoken by electing Labour on a pro EU platform"
Though the EU does look unlikely to have its new treaty during the next parliament, I think it will most likely kick in during the 2020 - 2025 term, though should the referendum lock be opened by labour, would the next government 2020-2025 lock it up again?
And once the referendum is called the decision no longer lies with David Cameron or any other politician - it's with the voters.
Heaven only knows what Labour might try to do if they win the election. But if they repeal the triple lock, and then try to ratify a treaty which moves powers to the EU without a referendum, they will lose significant support over it at the following election - to us or UKIP.
Campaigns do, Now are the conservatives going for a strategic exit plan which allows single market access and a flexible approach, like this one
http://www.eureferendum.com/documents/BrexitPamphlet001.pdf
or are they just going to throw FUD in the hope that we remain shackled to Ever Closer Union?