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Monday 21 January 2013

Cameron's EU speech


The Guardian reports on Cameron's much hyped forthcoming EU speech.

David Cameron will deliver his long-awaited speech on UK relations with the EU this week, the foreign secretary, William Hague, has said.

The prime minister had been due to make the speech in the Netherlands on Friday but it was postponed owing to the Algerian hostage crisis.


It's an odd situation, because Cameron's stance on the EU is well known and I suspect few people expect anything from this most evasive and dishonest man.

Cameron is expected to use the speech to warn that Britain could "drift towards the exit" unless there is change in Brussels. He has indicated that he will set out proposals to negotiate a new relationship with the EU which would then be put to a referendum after the next general election in 2015.

The prime minister has made clear that he wants Britain to stay in the EU and opposes a straight in/out referendum. But critics have warned that any "no" vote could mean the UK would have to leave.

It seems to me, and no doubt almost everyone else, that this may be aimed at a number of obvious objectives.

Firstly - kick the referendum issue beyond the next election - beyond what seems likely to be Cameron's only spell as Prime Minister.  This may mitigate further EU damage to the current regime and beyond that Cameron has no need to concern himself - apart from his next career move.

Secondly - Cameron hopes to reduce the UKIP threat by positioning himself as responsibly open-minded on EU membership.

Thirdly - it may be a move in Cameron's planned career as an international anodyne peddler.

None of this impresses anyone with a functioning brain cell, but the speech is likely to be aimed solely at Conservatives who are:-

  • Inclined to vote UKIP.
  • Reluctant to let in Labour.
  • Still open to Cameron's brand of dishonesty.

Will it work? Well his way of doing power politics hasn't been a great success so far. Has he anything interesting up his sleeve? Who cares? The man isn't honest enough for his speeches to matter. 

Unless voters actually listen to the guy and finally wake up how empty the suit is, but I can't see that happening on anything like a useful scale.

7 comments:

Sam Vega said...

"The man isn't honest enough for his speeches to matter."

Excellent point, well made. They used to matter, though, didn't they? Back in the days when we didn't know that he was a PR liar to the core. Once we witness a sufficient amount of prevarication and waffle, however, we have passed the point of no return. To be fair to the man, I think he could not do anything different. Given the structural forces acting upon the Conservative Party (and possibly upon the whole polity)the only type of person who could "lead" it, is a lying PR prevaricator. The only question is whether he knew this, or whether he is plain daft as well.

Anonymous said...

Well I reckon C&W has it right - Cameron is pandering to the headbangers in the Tory party. No-one else expects anything to come of Cam wagging his gums.

Better to tell them to sod off and start their own party and see how they get on.

James Higham said...

Firstly - kick the referendum issue beyond the next election - beyond what seems likely to be Cameron's only spell as Prime Minister.

I'd say there's a very good chance of that.

A K Haart said...

Sam - I have a sneaking suspicion that the guy may be daft, although cynical may still be a better bet.

Roger - the trouble with telling them to sod off is whether Cameron is the guy to make a success of what's left. He doesn't strike me as a trauma man.

James - I hope so, although the next PM may be even worse.

World Innovation Foundation Blog said...

It does not matter if the UK is in or out of the EU, as it is the economic strategy and policy fundamentals that are all wrong in Britain today. We simply have not moved on in our fundamental thinking and therefore it is totally out on sync with the economics of the 21st century.

Therefore whatever David Cameron says it will not make any difference to Britain’s long-term socio-economic future. In this respect we have got to make it happen ourselves and not rely on the EU with all their perpetual problem that simply will not go away. For there are far greater problems for the UK that lie on the horizon and until politicians realise that their advisers –regulators – political and economic advisers et al (and who have consistently got it so terribly wrong over the last half century as history has clearly shown), are the fundamental reason for our continual dire economic circumstances, Britain will never really get out of its problems. What is needed is a fully inclusive system of involvement with its people and where then their creative ideas can enter the system to provide a sustainable future. Nothing else will provide this dynamic possibility. For presently in this respect with the elitist mentality and only the few have the answers (history shows clearly that this is not the case again) there is little hope. Therefore the UK has to change to an integrated system where a pluralist society exists, where all can contribute and where presently no more than 3% of the population are creatively involved with nation building. In this respect history has shown that around 75% of all the major inventions that have created the modern world came from people outside the confines of mainstream R&D, not leading-edge research establishments et al. Cameron et al have to start taking notice of these facts for the UK’s future, as we need the great independent world-changing ideas first. Something we have not got and where we always have the cart before the horse – every time it has to be said.

For if we do not change Britain can only look forward to continual decline - Unfortunately this is a true assessment and where projections state that things will be much worse than this if we do not change our present ways of thinking. http://www.thewif.org.uk/home.php?xy=1600&pl=linux%20x86_64&PHPSESSID=66b9ac4752a7c94c2b2939c2b0090a09

Therefore things just have to change if the UK is to capture any future economic dynamism and that change process starts with our political mindsets which are transfixed by the current non-innovative governmental advisers. Logic states that only Independent advisers, free from vested-interests, can provide this and where government has to start to take far greater notice of this vital neglected resource which is pre-eminently needed for the nation's future if we are to have one.

Dr David Hill
Chief Executive
World Innovation Foundation
Huddersfield, UK - Bern, Switzerland - Arlington, USA

World Innovation Foundation Blog said...

It does not matter if the UK is in or out of the EU, as it is the economic strategy and policy fundamentals that are all wrong in Britain today. We simply have not moved on in our fundamental thinking and therefore it is totally out on sync with the economics of the 21st century.

Therefore whatever David Cameron says it will not make any difference to Britain’s long-term socio-economic future. In this respect we have got to make it happen ourselves and not rely on the EU with all their perpetual problem that simply will not go away. For there are far greater problems for the UK that lie on the horizon and until politicians realise that their advisers –regulators – political and economic advisers et al (and who have consistently got it so terribly wrong over the last half century as history has clearly shown), are the fundamental reason for our continual dire economic circumstances, Britain will never really get out of its problems. What is needed is a fully inclusive system of involvement with its people and where then their creative ideas can enter the system to provide a sustainable future. Nothing else will provide this dynamic possibility. For presently in this respect with the elitist mentality and only the few have the answers (history shows clearly that this is not the case again) there is little hope. Therefore the UK has to change to an integrated system where a pluralist society exists, where all can contribute and where presently no more than 3% of the population are creatively involved with nation building. In this respect history has shown that around 75% of all the major inventions that have created the modern world came from people outside the confines of mainstream R&D, not leading-edge research establishments et al. Cameron et al have to start taking notice of these facts for the UK’s future, as we need the great independent world-changing ideas first. Something we have not got and where we always have the cart before the horse – every time it has to be said.

For if we do not change Britain can only look forward to continual decline - Unfortunately this is a true assessment and where projections state that things will be much worse than this if we do not change our present ways of thinking. http://www.thewif.org.uk/home.php?xy=1600&pl=linux%20x86_64&PHPSESSID=66b9ac4752a7c94c2b2939c2b0090a09

Therefore things just have to change if the UK is to capture any future economic dynamism and that change process starts with our political mindsets which are transfixed by the current non-innovative governmental advisers. Logic states that only Independent advisers, free from vested-interests, can provide this and where government has to start to take far greater notice of this vital neglected resource which is pre-eminently needed for the nation's future if we are to have one.

Dr David Hill
Chief Executive
World Innovation Foundation
Huddersfield, UK - Bern, Switzerland - Arlington, USA

A K Haart said...

David - I tend to agree with you, but I also feel the UK needs national ideals which the EU effectively disallows.