Cameron may have tried to emulate New Labour's strategy of winning back power by moving the party to the centre ground, but he failed to realise that New Labour's success was never simply down to improving PR but about making a real shift from the grassroots up to a new policy settlement. Labour's decision to rewrite Clause IV with its commitment to common ownership of the means of production represented a decisive break with anachronisms in its past. Cameron has tried to do this to a very limited extent - talking more openly about poverty, trying to build up some green credentials, accepting the minimum wage and SureStart. But he's never taken on the one issue which looks set to cause him migraines in the next six months, and if he were to win power, would become a dominating issue of his premiership which is the Tory position on Europe.
This morning Tim Montgomerie does somersaults to justify Cameron's u-turn on his pledge for a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. Now as Cameron gets closer to power it is quite clear that they can see the trouble a referendum would cause if they were to win in May next year. Montgomerie quotes a CCHQ adviser saying:
"The unions and our political opponents would urge voters to use the referendum to kick the Tory government in the teeth. A manifesto mandate is safer, cleaner, less distracting."
Quite a long way from Cameron's referendum pledge in the Sun :
"there's nothing "new" about breaking your promises to the British public... And it is the cancer that is eating away at trust in politics. Small wonder
that so many people don't believe a word politicians ever say if they break
their promises so casually."
While it was clear that a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty was unnecessary, Cameron cannot be left unchallenged on this huge shift in policy.One cannot help but see this as a move purely in the interests of the Conservative Party and not the general public. Trust is obviously not so important to Cameron the more he scents success.
But while Montgomerie's acceptance of Cameron's backtracking might at one glance look like a softening of Tory views on Europe, it actually reflects the fact that Tory Eurosceptics can see that a 'manifesto mandate' would give them license to renegotiate the whole of Britain's membership of the EU, rather than just Lisbon. Montgomerie is quite clear on this:
"If Britain's relationship with the EU is fundamentally the same after five years of Conservative government the internal divisions that ended the last Tory period in government will look like a tea party in comparison."
Tough talk indeed which is backed up by a press release from the Bruges Group, an odd little outfit set up in 1989 in homage to Thatcher's Bruges speech in 1988. They obviously aren't prepared to entertain the idea of somersaults over the referendum pledge:
"David Cameron needs to come clean with the British people: why is he breaking his pledge to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty?
“There was absolutely no wriggle room in the unambiguous pledge he made in September 2007. He offered a “cast iron guarantee” to put any treaty in front of the voters. Why has he changed his mind now? What has changed his mind now?
“It cannot be good enough for a man who wants to be British Prime Minister to hide behind the leader of any other European state. Václav Klaus is a hero in his own country for having stood up to Communism. David Cameron seemingly can’t even stand up for his own past promises.
“What is the point in David Cameron upending one pledge on Europe , but promising he’ll offer us yet more European promises in his general election manifesto? Why will they be any more credible than the ‘cast-iron guarantee’ he has just broken?
“How can David Cameron claim he’ll fight to repatriate powers from Brussels when he won’t even fight to implement his own past words?
The press release ends:
"The Tory leader stands condemned by his own words.
“David Cameron’s future European policy is now incoherent, disingenuous and utterly unconvincing. This is a dark day for the Tory party, but a worse one for Britain .”
Labour supporters might feel content to sit back and watch this one play out - there's nothing we like more than to see the Tories split on Europe. But one of the reasons why the Eurosceptics are having a field day is because of our own ambiguity in our support for Europe. This year's European election was a case in point with all of our literature crudely emblazoned with the British flag trying to get the public to engage in double-think. We should support Europe and make it clear to the public why we do. Sure it's an unpopular position, but it's the right one for progressives and we'd do a lot better to square up to our Eurosceptic foes and start doing battle. Sitting on a comfy sofa in opposition watching the Tories take chunks out of each other would be pure indulgence when our international reputation would be in tatters and our country would be worse off as a result of withdrawal from key aspects of the EU. Taking a cue from the Bruges Group - these may seem like dark days for the Labour Party, but even darker ones await Britain if we fail to make the case for Europe in the next six months.
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