Cllr. Gavin Ayling

September 2005
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Archive for September 9th, 2005

At all costs?

Posted by Gav on September 9th, 2005

Is it really worth it? The Conservatives and commentators (characterised by Peter Oborne’s article in this week’s Spectator) may be considering choosing Ken Clarke as the next leader.

The reason, apparently, would be that he is the most likely candidate to win at the next election. Apparently 40% of the British people want Ken Clarke to be the Tory leader. As more than 40% of the British public voted for Blair and the Lib Dems at the last two elections, we can only assume that that 40% doesn’t know what’s good for them, so why should the Tories listen to them?

Possibly, too, there is some benefit to the Tories in having an electable leader (which would make a nice change), but why on earth would the Tories want to gain power at the expense of their excellent post-Thatcher/Major ideology? David Cameron is cited as being liberal, but only on social issues - which can only be a damn good thing. On economic issues, his supporter, George Osborne, has announced “an independent commission to look at the implications… of flat tax[es]” which is a move in direction the country and, therefore, the Conservatives should be moving. David Davis is a little less liberal, despite the media’s implication that he is a whole lot more so, and equally right-wing on economic issues; he is also continuing to work and allowing the leadership not to distract, as much as he can, from Labour’s failings. Liam Fox, the Scot, is weak on English issues but a typically good egg, generally.

Ken Clarke is socially inconsistent, as I said before, and economically Gordon Brown’s bed-fellow! Not only that, but he has a penchant for giving away our sovereignty and currency that no-one in England and in their right mind believes is the best thing for Britain or England.

The Tories must embrace, advertise and act-upon ideology and not, repeat not, seek power at any cost. Especially if this results in another Conservative government, typified by Major’s floundering Prime Minister-ship (though he really is a good speaker in person), that reconfirms and damages further the public’s opinion of Conservative economic mismanagement.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say is again, anyone but Clarke (though preferably David Davis).

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Richard Ashworth MEP Fights Sunbeam Insanity

Posted by Gav on September 9th, 2005

The following shows a strange conflict between what UKIP promises and what it delivers in Brussels/Strasbourg:

South East MEP and Tory Whip, Richard Ashworth, has accused Labour and UKIP members in Strasbourg of jeopardising UK businesses by exposing them to the red tape risk from the so-called “Sunshine Directive”.

Richard and his Conservative Group colleagues led an attempt to scrap the infamous directive which would force employers in the South East to monitor the exposure of workers to natural sunlight.

“This is protection gone mad. Of course we want safety at work to receive the highest priority but for bosses to have to tell workers to cover up or rub on some sunblock, is meddlesome nannying of the worst kind,” says the MEP.

The Conservative Group narrowly failed in their attempt to scrap the “sunshine directive” because UKIP MEPs voted against an amendment which would have removed natural sunlight altogether from the scope of the draft EU law. The ten UKIP members voted against the Conservative amendment. The amendment was supported by a majority of 361 MEPs, with 296 against, but failed by just six votes to reach the “qualified majority” level of 367 required to amend legislation in a second reading.

“It’s hypocritical of UKIP to boast they are the champions of freedom from EU bureaucracy when they fail to take a stand against this ridiculous law which would impose an enormous burden on local employers,” says Richard.

The Tory group did however achieve a significant victory by persuading a majority of MEPs to support a fall-back compromise amendment which proposed that the issue be left to member states to decide. Labour MEPs fought the principle of subsidiarity but were outvoted.

Tories throughout the South East voted UKIP against their normal Conservative tendency at the European elections in the hope that this would help us reduce the time we have to remain an EU member state. It looks like this was a mistake!