This Lib Dem wants an EU referendum

Ordinarily I would be gleeful at seeing the Conservative Party suffer a historically large rebellion within it's own ranks.  Yesterday in response to a petition sent in by the public a vote was put to Parliament, to decide if a public referendum about this country's membership of the European Union should take place.  The government and opposition voted against this referendum, the majority of votes for the referendum being from rebel Conservatives (111 votes were cast against, 80 of them rebel Tory votes).

Like I said ordinarily I would say good, what's bad for UKIP and the Tory 1922 Committee is good for me.  And ultimately good for the country.  Now I am not so sure.

If you ask many people about what the EU does many people wouldn't have much of a clue beyond it being involved in promoting trade in the continent.  Yet the body is ever expanding, and even has its own Parliament.  With this the body has gone on a law creating frenzy.  Many of these laws automatically become entwined with our legal system, only occassionally coming under direct parliamentary scrutiny.  Much of this is unsettlingly under the radar, we hardly take notice of it happening. 

We vote in MPs because we want them to influence the formation of laws in ways we see fit.  Already we substitute our interests to representatives in Parliament, this is the consensus to have us represented but prevent "mob rule".  But by that logic the consensus is stretched a lot more when our country's let alone our own voting power declines, in the face of representatives from other countries, voting in a parliament of 25 nations.  That isn't to say we are being taken over, that is to say it is harder to ensure that our interests are spoken up for in this wider forum. 

Suddenly our interests are smaller fish in a bigger sea.  It stands to reason that some people may worry about this.  And they have a right to.  Public concern in such institutions can be alleviated by measures that allow greater transparency to be introduced as well as measures to give them people more of a direct say.

People can put up with a lot.  But one thing they are intolerant of is being promised to have a say in a big decision, then having that oppurtunity taken away from them.  The previous government did it with the Lisbon Treaty and signed it, even when other EU member countries trusted their people enough to let them have a say.  And now our government is responsible for snubbing the will of the people.  It is as though the government turned around and said to the public "we are smarter than you, we have to make this important decision for you.  Because we know best".  By putting across this message our three main parties have effectively betrayed us all.

The EU have become an off limits debating topic.  The more it does the less likely its very real faults will ever get attention.  The inherent contradictions are there but somehow progress in solving them alludes us.  This is because the UK main parties have made the EU a political pillar issue, meaning to mention it in a critical way is sure to get you labelled as a crazy isolationist.

Well I am not an isolationist.  Far from it.  I know why my party has no spine on the hard issues when it comes to the EU, vested interests.  Our leader is a former MEP, that is why he used his recent public appearance to call for the scalps of Euro-sceptics.  Our former shadow foriegn policy spokesman Ed Davie has had business links with Europe for many years, and the Europe revolving door extends further into the party. It is arguable that the opposite bias exists on the Tory bench, with much of the party favouring a closer relationship with the US.  Labour tends to flop both ways in the extreme.  The Lisbon Treaty was dooley signed, and our airspace was made available for the safe passage of US terror flights under New Labour.

This power bloc mentallity is embarrasingly simplistic.  We need to start considering a balanced relationship with both power blocs, and appreciate the divisions within Europe especially.  For instance some eastern European nations who have worked hard at spending wisely have scoffed at Greece, an early member of the EU not know for fiscal discipline yet getting in far earlier than the eastern bloc countries.  Germany too is starting to wonder about the future of Europe since their capital is being used for many of the bailouts being carried out.  And let us not forget about the BRIC countries, the rising powers.  Less so Russia.  Perhaps it is time we use more of our energy to reach out to them.

The EU started as a free trade body, yet not many of the member countries as a whole operate on purely free trade rules.  Protectionism still exists.  The EU Cap and Trade scheme is a sham, that has ended up giving money to some of the continent's most polluting industries.  The EU parliament expenses report has been censored, not letting us know how OUR money has been spent.  The French farmer still gets more agricultural subsidies while British farmers struggle to turn a profit.  Serbia is given a fast track to talks after spontaneously pulling a war criminal out of its hat (more impressive than a rabbit trick any day of the week), yet Turkey struggles even to get talks about talks to enter the EU.  And the final insult is that France, a country has now banned the burkha has criticised us for breaching human rights.

This will and has gone on for years.  I think the EU and its advocates and detractors need to have an open debate.  If the EU is worth saving then let us go to political war over it.  If it is going to rob us blind more than it helps us then let us get out of it. At the very least we need to make the issue of the EU a lot more open to the public. More informative for sure.  Part of that is giving people a reason to learn.  Why look up something that you have no stake in?  Give people power, and they, some at least will strive to be responsible.

But please, no more telling us the economy is too bad to make this decision.  This issue will be less likely to be debated in the easy times, not more.  Besides the economy is hardly ever rosey these days, but life goes on.  And don't make leaving the EU akin to the country becoming an isolationist outpost of evil, slipping towards poverty.  I doubt European countries will all simply stop trading with us if we left the EU, they have an interest in continuity in that regard as much as we do.  Putting power out of people's hands is FEEDING anti-EU extremism, not reducing it.

If politicians want to destroy UKIP then fight them on their own terms.  Hit them where they live, blow their single issue wide open.  Then condemn them to obscurity for the rest of their natural lives.  And at the same time make the EU seem less inhuman and more relevant to people's lives.

This Lib Dem wants an EU referendum, and condemns his leader for cheating the public out of what they have asked for. 

Worrying about the Right Things is a Good Start

We can often get ourselves worked up over nothing, or nothing much.  Just a few weeks ago I found myself surprisingly nervous heading on the Eurostar for my first holiday in mainland Europe, to stay in Paris for a week.  My family bar a few are all shocking at foreign languages, especially French.  I am sadly not one of the exceptions to that rule.  As we got out in Gar Du Nord the dumb tourist persona overshadowed me (albeit temporarily), as I came to the realisation that I was in a country full of a majority of people whom I would not be able to communicate with.  At least not on any but the most basic level.  Oh sure I had my trusty phrase book, I bought two as though I was on an army partol and needed a back up lest I be defenceless in unfamiliar territory. 

Needless to say such concerns were embarrasingly largely irrelevant.  Myself and Anna got to our hotel using enough French and awkward gesticulation to get us to our destination to the taxi driver.  Tired and somewhat amused by our attempts at communication, the driver dully drove us to our hotel.  Everywhere else we either learned our phrases well enough to pass by, or like in the greasy cafe across the road from our hotel, we ended up talking to someone who wanted to practice their English.  With the exception of the hotel caterer at breakfast time, she was exceptionally rude at our attempts to communicate with her.  She offended all of the European guests in our room, to the extent that I thought we may have to band together, in a sort of strange re-enactment of the coalition that brought down Napoleon in 1815.  Nothing so dramatic happened, we left the crone to tyrannise the breakfast room for the rest of the week and got breakfast elsewhere.

Why did this happen?  Why did I waste my energy worrying?  I snapped out of it eventually, just so you all know I very much enjoyed my holiday.  I was after all going on holiday in a civilised country (some would perhaps disagree).  The fear was eventually replaced by a sober reality check.  Bouts of fear can make people do crazy things, so can anger.

At the moment I feel there is too much fear and anger in this country.  Much of it, though not enough has been ploughed into constructive outlets.  It in many ways isn't surprising, our country has gone through a rough patch.  We have made it through a recession only to be faced by an ever bleaker economic future being slowly revealed.  Then came the cuts.  Then came the riots.  Then phone hacking.  You hear noises about us not being able to trust: bankers, cops, journalists and especially not politicians.

Right now much of the anger is being taken out on the corporate world for alleged (and in some cases definite) greed, through the now global protests inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement.  In many ways I smile at this new trend for activism.  But the beard stroking former politics student in me urges caution.

A common theme I see in these current activist upheavals left and right wing, is the theme of big monoliths (government and corporate) disadvantaging and in many cases betraying people outright.  The betrayal myth has existed in politics in many forms for years.  Sometimes it has been rightly invoked.  But at other times it has been invoked to provoke base feelings of resentment and anger for destructive ends.  A negative example of this betrayal myth is the 'Stab in the Back' myth used by the Nazis to deadly effect in the 1930s.  This myth described the German people being corrupted from within by a fifth column of Jews and Communists.

Now I am not trying to say that teenagers and middle aged Mum's in New York or in London are going to start causing genocide.  Activism trumps apathy in my book any day, so I am pleased to see people up and out.  What I am concerned at is the undirected and unconstructive display of raw emotion on display, where will it lead?  Where is this going?  Does anyone know?  I guess my main worry is that people are talking about problems everywhere, but actual solutions are hard to come by.

What is the answer to corporate greed?  Does anyone want to answer it?  Why not?  Too complicated?  Perhaps.  But if one is out on the frontlines, surely they shouldn't be afraid to be put on the spot.  Myself on the anti-nuke protest a couple of years ago would say the solution to the problem I have highlighted is unilateral disarmament.  I am concerned that if this movement does not get constructive really quickly it will either run out of steam or turn into something undesirable.

I think a lot of this rests with people's acceptance of easy answers.  The hardest answer to hear though, is that you are not part of a solution, or that you are unknowingly part of the problem in some way.  Corporate debt is rampant, but so is personal debt. Yet the movement to highlight the latter is miniscule compared to the movement to the former.  Having said that, yes corporations have a lot to answer for, but we too remain imperfect.

Make no mistake though.  The government too is at fault. David Cameron and Nick Clegg have allowed a culture of fear to descend on the country.  Suddenly people are afraid to protest, and the disgraceful restrictions on protesting in London remain.  London became a totalitarian state during the Royal Wedding, casting us protestors for a republic outside of the party like a dangerous revolutionary linch mob.  People are being demonised by two former vandalisers and arsonists.  In this respect the world has trully gone mad.  We are told that this kind of societal distress is new and requires harsher medicine, this is complete tosh.  Read a history book, we have been through worse.

The point I want to make from all this is the following.  Misdirected fear and anger are hardly ever good things to have around.  Yes, blame those responsible.  But remember that your farts don't smell of roses.  ALL people have a stake in a better tomorrow.  Just raking up the past and getting bitter over it will only go so far.  People need to dare to think of solutions, not worry about the consequences.  If you are proven wrong, admit it, and take it in your stride.....and start again!  We're British, the stiffer upper lip is a national treasure.  And so is our knack for succeeding in times of adversity.