Conservative European Leader attacks the Government for not being straight with the British people
Posted, June 07, 2007 @ 00:00
Conservative European Leader attacks the Government for not being straight with the British people
Brussels 7 June -- In a debate today in the European Parliament on the EU Constitution, Timothy Kirkhope MEP, Leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament, attacked the British Government for not being straight being with the British people.
He said: "The debate on the Constitution is taking place on three false pretexts. The first is that the people of France and the Netherlands voted "no" for reasons unconnected to the Constitution. This is a delusion. The second is that by simply calling the Constitution by another name while leaving the substance basically intact will deal with the problem. The third is that the EU is currently in a crisis of decision-making.
"On all three counts, I profoundly disagree."
If the intention of some Member States is to bring back the substance of the Constitution with a few presentational tweaks and then rush it through without proper public debate, people will rightly conclude that the EU has learned nothing from the "no" votes - and the alienation factor between the people and the EU will merely intensify.
In the United Kingdom, the Government is doing nothing to explain its position to the people. This may be, of course, because the Government is paralysed as it waits for Mr Blair to depart and Mr Brown to succeed him. The truth is that the Government has adopted so many positions on the Constitution that the British people have no idea what it believes.
He added: "Mr Blair used to be against a Constitution, then he said one was vital. Mr Blair said there was no need for a referendum - then he said it was vital to have one. Now, the Government dares not utter the word. Some Ministers have said they will defend the veto in justice matters, some have said they will wait and see - while Labour MEPs are all for it. The people of Britain deserve clarity from their government and they are not getting it.