Wednesday 23 January 2013

This councillor's not for turning

Conservative Home's Harry Phibbs had been emailing UKIP Councillors asking them to join the Conservative Party after Cameron's pathetic EU speech today.
Dear UKIP councillor,

As some of you know I edit the Local Government section of Conservative Home and would be interested in your reaction to David Cameron's speech this morning.

In particular if you feel that the offer of an in/out referendum on EU membership from the Conservatives means you feel Conservative victory at the General Election would be preferable to Labour victory and if so if you will consider joining the Conservatives. Or if not what would be required to persuade you to join.

I would like to write a blog with comments so please let me know if they are on the record or not for attribution.
Strangely, I didn't get this email despite being a UKIP councillor and even being on Conservative Home's mailing list.  Perhaps their generous benefactor, Lord Ashcroft, has a target list of UKIP councillors as well as constituencies?

In case you're wondering Harry, I'd rather poke my eyes out with a spoon that join the Conservatives.  I've never voted Tory in my life and I certainly don't intend to start just because David Cameron has made another empty promise of an EU referendum after the next election that he won't win on the ridiculous premise that he would somehow renegotiate our relationship with the EU when the only legal basis for doing so is invoking Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty which gives notice that we intend to leave.  David Cameron has made it very clear yet again - as he did before the Conservative Party membership voted for him as leader - that he is committed to the UK's continued membership of the EU and clearly isn't going to entertain the idea of invoking Article 50.  There is very little difference between Labour and the Conservatives and whichever of those two authoritarian, economically illiterate, europhile parties manages to secure a majority in 2015 really doesn't matter because without UKIP MPs in Parliament this country isn't going to get back on its feet.