Thanks for the replies. I have a few points to raise before my rant.
Hortlund, do you think Sweden was right not to adopt the € currency? Give reasons for your answer. I'm just interested in your point of view.
Monk - you are in/near Frankfurt? I might be visiting friends there soon. Thanks for posting that link! One of the points it makes is
Germany must take action on its looming budget deficit by 21 May or face punishment, the European Commission has warned. The dressing-down from Brussels is being seen as a humiliation for the government of Europe's largest economy but is not expected to lead to any immediate financial penalty. It comes at a difficult time for Germany, which is suffering very low economic growth, high unemployment and the threat of strikes by public sector workers.
Part of Germany's problem stems from adoption of the € which required all participating countries to surrender control of their interest rates to Brussels. Thus, Germany continues to be in a pickle because it's stuck with interest rates of around 3½%, when what it really needs is an interest rate cut to stimulate the economy - possibly to as little as 1% or even ½%. But it can't do that. This whole concept of a single currency throughout Europe would be fine -
if it would work. Great not having to keep converting money from one currency to another. That used to cost businesses millions of £ every year. But the single currency simply
pretends that all the member states' economies are the same, and simply
pretends that market forces in the different member states are the same. They are not. They are very different. As Germany is now finding out.
And now my rant. In 1975, I voted YES in the EU Referendum - should we stay in the EU. To be honest, I had no clue about Europe. The reason I voted as I did was because the NO voters were led by Labour's far left wing "Tribune" group of MPs (Tony Benn, Michael Foot, and a couple of others who have since died) A NO vote would have given that bunch a carte blanche to take control and lead the march towards Socialism - high taxes, a tax on wealth, punitive taxes on our freedoms like driving. These are the people who supported the 83% income tax, and on motoring even proposed Pay-As-U-Drive meters in cars! On that day in 1975, the country voted YES by 2-1. Huge relief.
Neil Kinnock, who led the Labour party 1983-1992 was vehemently opposed to Europe when he arrived on the political scene in the 1970s. But he changed his tune when he saw how he might personally benefit from it. Having led his party to defeat in two general elections, he took up a new career - working for the EU in Brussels on a salary of £140,000 tax free, with expenses and accommodation provided. Can you say "champagne socialist"? His job in recent years has been to investigate corruption/fraud/waste in the EU, but from what I've heard a lot of information has been swept under the carpet. Dowding has already mentioned corruption at the EU. But what hope if those investigating corruption are themselves corrupt?
I see Blair doing the same thing after he leaves British politics. He'll probably get a cushy number in Brussels, and he and Cherie will be able to continue their globe trotting lifestyle while someone else clears up the mess of his legacy as British PM.
That's the end of my rant.
I don't propose to read the entire EU Constitution. Very few people will. It's enough (for now) to know that under that constitution, EU law would have primacy over British law and that of other EU member states. And if Britain were to be joining America in a new military skirmish somewhere, that would be decided by the President of Europe, not the Prime Minister of Britain. And of course we would have to have the € and surrender control of our interest rates.
There is some concern over how the EU referendum should be worded. I absolutely agree with Schaden when he said
the question is of course what exactly are we going to vote on and that question is going to be very, very carefully framed by the Labour Party to give it the answer it wants to hear.
That being the case, I think the Labour Govt. would do well to get Lazs to compose the wording of the referendum.
