Reflections on EU Policy.

Been reflecting on the weekend media's response to David Cameron's policy statement following the decision of the Czech President, Vaclav Klaus to complete the Lisbon Treaty's ratification process. Not sure what to think. Best column, in my opinion, was William Rees Mogg in the Mail on Sunday. Like me, he thinks the sheer deception which has been employed by the EU to avoid any sort of democratic approval for its 'constitutional' treaty has done great damage to the EU. People like me, who might have described themselves as 'moderately' Eurosceptic have been pushed into a deep suspicion of the whole EU enterprise. If the Conservatives do win the General Election, the UK will have a deeply Eurosceptic government. And Euroscepticism is going to gain ground across Europe.

I was very disappointed in Christopher Booker's article in the Telegraph. He states with authority 'Of course, David Cameron never wanted a referendum' etc.. He has no grounds for writing that sentence and for this reader has sacrificed his credibility. I cannot see how anyone can say that David did not want a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. None of the leaders of the EU thought that, which is why they pulled every trick in the book to get it ratified before the Conservatives could stop it. A Conservative Government could never have reneged as Labour and the Liberal Democrats did - even if the leadership wanted to. Mr Booker has written bilge today.

The most encouraging article I've read has been written by Janet Daley in the Telegraph. They do not come much more Eurosceptic than she is, but she's a realist. She knows the difference between making a noise, and making a difference. Like many of us, she does not like our being denied a meaningful referendum, but unlike Ukip supporters, she puts the blame where it should properly be put - on Labour and the Lib Dems. Sometime over the next few days I want to post about integrity in politics - asking whether 'deception' is a legitimate strategy. A recent leaflet distributed by the Lib Dems in Montgomeryshire is a blatant attempt to deceive, which upset some of my supporters. "We stay out of the gutter", is my response. "The voters are not stupid and will see through the deception". And I do not think they are daft enough to go along with Ukip's strategy of preventing a Conservative Government being elected either. It just cannot make any sense to a genuine Eurosceptic. After reflection, I think I'm quite encouraged by the weekend's media.