As David Cameron pulls out all the stops to convince a sceptical electorate that he really will offer an in/out referendum if the Conservatives are re-elected in 2015, the debate about the future of our membership of the EU intensifies, with three former chancellers, Lords Lawson, Lamont and Healey, all saying they would vote to leave, as would the Tory ex-Cabinet minister Michael Portillo and at least two members of the present Cabinet.
The crux of the issue is whether any meaningful renegotiation of our terms of membership is possible. Lord Leach, chairman of the Open Europe Think Tank, argues that a root and branch reform of the EU is the best option. "The majority of the public, the political class and business", he writes, "are sceptical about the EU but rather than leaving it they want a new deal to reduce its power over their lives." Yesterday, David Cameron accused supporters of withdrawal of "throwing in the towel" - in other words, giving up prematurely on the hope of reform.
However, Lord Lawson claimed that he has contacts in Brussels who have confirmed that any renegotiation on the UK's membership is likely to be "inconsequential", and that we can give up any real hope of reform. The balance of evidence lies with our former Chancellor. José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, is still talking about "More Europe" as the solution to the Eurozone crisis! Hardly evidence that one of the EU's most powerful leaders is very open to reform, Furthermore, can anyone provide a shred of evidence that the French will drop their intransigent opposition to the costly and wasteful Common Agricultural Policy? Is there any hint that the powers-that-be are going to rescind the principle of the free momvement of people and allow us to deport the hundreds of thousands of Eastern Europeans who have invaded this country since 2004? Is there the slightest hope that the daft renewables legislation which is threatening to turn our lights off in 2015 will be chucked in the bin? Or the Working Time Directive? Will there be a mass conversion among Europe's leaders to the principle that people should be left to live their own lives and not have them micro-managed by know-it-all politicians? Although David Cameron hasn't started talking yet, I see no evidence that any reform is likely to emerge in the areas where it matters, nor any significant concessions to the UK. After all, the founding principle of the EU is "Ever Closer Union". Its very structure has been deliberately engineered without any reverse gear.
Really, all the nations of Europe need is a free trade area. We don't need a European Parliament, an unelected European Commission, European Council "summits", thousands and thousands of directives, free movment of peoples, currency unions, treaties and so forth. Believe it or not, such a Free Trade area exists. It's called EFTA, and we were once part of it until we were deceived by Edward Heath into leaving it in 1973. Now, sadly, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein are the only members left. If the EU could reform itself to the point where it could merge with EFTA as it had become nothing more than a second European Free Trade Area, then it would be worth staying a member, but the reality is that this is about as likely as a cat reforming itself into a dog.
The crux of the issue is whether any meaningful renegotiation of our terms of membership is possible. Lord Leach, chairman of the Open Europe Think Tank, argues that a root and branch reform of the EU is the best option. "The majority of the public, the political class and business", he writes, "are sceptical about the EU but rather than leaving it they want a new deal to reduce its power over their lives." Yesterday, David Cameron accused supporters of withdrawal of "throwing in the towel" - in other words, giving up prematurely on the hope of reform.
However, Lord Lawson claimed that he has contacts in Brussels who have confirmed that any renegotiation on the UK's membership is likely to be "inconsequential", and that we can give up any real hope of reform. The balance of evidence lies with our former Chancellor. José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, is still talking about "More Europe" as the solution to the Eurozone crisis! Hardly evidence that one of the EU's most powerful leaders is very open to reform, Furthermore, can anyone provide a shred of evidence that the French will drop their intransigent opposition to the costly and wasteful Common Agricultural Policy? Is there any hint that the powers-that-be are going to rescind the principle of the free momvement of people and allow us to deport the hundreds of thousands of Eastern Europeans who have invaded this country since 2004? Is there the slightest hope that the daft renewables legislation which is threatening to turn our lights off in 2015 will be chucked in the bin? Or the Working Time Directive? Will there be a mass conversion among Europe's leaders to the principle that people should be left to live their own lives and not have them micro-managed by know-it-all politicians? Although David Cameron hasn't started talking yet, I see no evidence that any reform is likely to emerge in the areas where it matters, nor any significant concessions to the UK. After all, the founding principle of the EU is "Ever Closer Union". Its very structure has been deliberately engineered without any reverse gear.
Really, all the nations of Europe need is a free trade area. We don't need a European Parliament, an unelected European Commission, European Council "summits", thousands and thousands of directives, free movment of peoples, currency unions, treaties and so forth. Believe it or not, such a Free Trade area exists. It's called EFTA, and we were once part of it until we were deceived by Edward Heath into leaving it in 1973. Now, sadly, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein are the only members left. If the EU could reform itself to the point where it could merge with EFTA as it had become nothing more than a second European Free Trade Area, then it would be worth staying a member, but the reality is that this is about as likely as a cat reforming itself into a dog.