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6 Contradictions in Cameron’s speech
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1. Austerity ”People are increasingly frustrated that decisions taken further and further away from them mean their living standards are slashed through enforced austerity.” ”It is through the Greek Parliament that...
EU Cyber Crime Centre
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The European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) officially opened last week at Europol’s headquarters in The Hague, marking an important step in the fight against organised crime and terrorism. The centre will support European cooperation in protecting ag...
EU membership is crucial to Britain’s growing car industry
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We may have just overtaken Brazil to become the world’s sixth largest economy, but the overall economic outlook for the UK remains relatively bleak. Some economists foresee a full-blown triple-dip recession, and with consumer spe...
Boris Johnson knows how to play the Eurosceptic press
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On Tuesday, Boris Johnson made his latest thinly veiled bid for the Tory leadership, outlining his own distinctive vision of Britain’s relationship with the EU ahead of David Cameron’s crucial, defining speech on Europe later this month...
Theresa May’s opt-out mess
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Stephen Booth of Open Europe was alone in defending the UK government’s plan to opt out of 130 EU police and judicial measure at a Law Society debate last week. Even he pointed to the list of 60 measures of ‘practical value’ ̷...
Focusing on the size of the EU budget is side-lining the wider issue of what it is spent on
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The outcome of the EU budget summit last week was not as bad as it could have been. Cameron did not wield his veto, as he was threatening to just a few days before. And while EU Leaders did not reach … Continue reading →...
To get the best deal on the EU budget we must engage with our natural allies
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Although the Commons vote on the EU budget isn’t binding, the Government is now under pressure to make demands that simply cannot be met. Calling for a real-terms cut in the EU budget would not only be unrealistic, but would … Continue re...
In Sweden, smokers have another option – Snus
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I tried to quit smoking this month. I lasted a decidedly unimpressive five days. I have tried all the remedies – patches, gums and going cold turkey – but none of them worked. Meeting friends for a patch and … Continue reading →...
Peter Mandelson: Government putting UK interests at risk
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Peter Mandelson argued passionately for greater British engagement in Europe at a debate last Thursday on the implications of further Eurozone integration for the UK. He criticised David Cameron for threatening to veto the upcoming EU budget, which h...
Why the EU deserves the Nobel Peace Prize
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The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the EU on Friday was met with predictable derision from the likes of Nigel Farage, who described it the decision as “baffling,” and leader of the Tory MEPs Martin Callanan, who said … Continue read...
Britain’s prosperity depends on trade with Europe, whatever Ukip may say
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It is high time Britain left the ailing EU and its burdensome regulations and embraced trade with fast-growing emerging economies. That was the argument put forward by Nigel Farage at his keynote speech this morning at the Ukip conference. …...
Young, Bright and the on the Right – The Tale of Two Tragic Tories
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‘Young, Bright and on the Right,’ the story of two aspiring young Tories at Oxford and Cambridge, definitely made for some entertaining television. Joe and Chris inspire a mixture of loathing, pity and bewilderment as they struggle to nav...
Liberal Democrats need to counter the perception that they are no longer a serious political force
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Many of my friends are quite bemused when I say am working for the Liberal Democrats. “They’re a bit of a laughing stock at the moment,” one will say. “They’ll be wiped out at the next election,” another comments. These … Continue r...
European countries must work together to solve the asylum crisis
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Today marks World Refugee Day, which aims to raise awareness of the plight of the 42.5 million people worldwide who remain forcibly displaced due to conflict and political persecution. The UNHCR’s Global Trends report, released earlier this w...
It’s not a case of austerity v stimulus for Europe
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Calls for a more growth-led approach dominated last week’s informal EU summit, but European leaders made little progress in the ongoing discussions over the best way to overcome the economic crisis – and stalled over disagreements about eu...
France did not reject European austerity, it rejected Sarkozy
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President François Hollande’s call for a new growth-led approach has resonated with many people across Europe who continue to suffer from a seemingly endless cycle of economic decline and painful public sector cuts. Nobel prize-winning econo...
Spread the word about this EU push for citizen participation
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Most people probably won’t have even heard of the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), introduced on the 1st April last week. Hailed as the first transnational instrument of participatory democracy in world history, it allows members of the publi...
The Untold Story – Arms imports and the Greek debt crisis
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Last week I went to a talk by Czech Prime Minister Petr Nečas at LSE in which he made the usual grim diagnosis about the debt crisis in Greece. The country was in dire need of structural reforms, he said, both … Continue reading →...
Deputy Leader Simon Hughes on Liberalism, Coalition and what the Lib Dems stand for
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On 9th February, Liberal Democrat deputy leader Simon Hughes came to UCL to give a talk to students about what his party stands for. Here is a summary of his talk: After a long-anticipated arrival, Simon Hughes launches straight into … Continue...
Leader of the 1968 Student Revolt and radical Green MEP Daniel Cohn-Bendit on his idea of Europe
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MEP Daniel Cohn-Bendit, prominent leader of the student revolts which erupted throughout Europe in 1968, came to Kings College London on 28th February to give a talk on where the EU should be headed in these equally turbulent times. Originally …...
