Howard: Tories will “put Britain first”
Michael Howard has said that the Conservative Party rejects the two extreme views on Europe presented by Labour and the Liberal Democrats on one side and the UK Independence Party on the other.
Instead he argued the Conservatives will “put Britain first”.
Delivering an election campaign speech on Tuesday afternoon in Southampton, the Conservative leader argued that UK Independence Party (UKIP) candidates for the European elections “represent a party that wants to pull out of the European Union altogether.”
Further, he accused of them of having “frequently failed to vote in the European Parliament on issues that are vital to Britain.”
Mr Howard also sharply criticised the Labour and the Liberal Democrats as being “at the other extreme” and argued that they would set Europe “on the path to a single European State.”
Mr Howard stated: “The Conservative Party rejects both these extremes.”
“We have always supported Britain’s membership of the European Union. But we have also always been prepared to stand up for Britain’s interests in Europe. We put Britain first. And we reject moves towards a single European state.” he said.
In order to ensure that Europe is able to meet new challenges, Mr Howard said that the Conservative Party will campaign for an enterprise Europe that looks outward. It also demands “profound changes” in the way the European Union conducts its business, he argued.
On the European Constitution, Mr Howard stated: “I am totally opposed to the European Constitution. Countries have constitutions and I do not want to be part of a country called Europe.”
Mr Howard advised that Britain should say “no” to the Constitution.
“Saying ‘No’ would send clear message to Europe: we want to control more of our lives, here in Britain. We don’t want to be railroaded into handing over yet more power to Brussels.”
Further, he suggested that Britain should put forward an alternative vision for Europe, to counter the federalist vision.
He revealed: “Conservatives have a clear vision for Europe.
“It’s a vision that will help safeguard jobs and prosperity. It will put Britain first.”
He flagged up policies such as those governing fisheries and overseas aid budgets as areas that “would be better dealt with at national level.”
Mr Howard also rejected the argument that there cannot be a flexible Europe.
He maintained: “Some say ‘that sort of Europe is not on offer’. I reject that defeatism. It is on offer from the Conservative Party. And it makes sense – not only for countries like Britain who do not want to transfer any more power to the EU. But also for those countries who want to integrate more closely but feel held back by other member states.”
The Conservative Party leader stated that tackling the challenge of an enlarged EU “requires a change in attitude. We need a Europe that is built on mutual respect, not mutual suspicion. For Europe to be a success in the 21st century it needs to do less but do things better.”
He added: “That flexible approach would ensure that we create a ‘made to measure’ Europe in which the institutional arrangements comfortably fit national interests, not an “off the peg” Europe, ill-fitting and splitting at the seams.”
Mr Howard said: “It would be a tragedy now, if the democracies of Europe elected politicians who wished only to take power away from people and create a sclerotic Europe looking to the past.
“Let’s instead vote for a positive Europe, where nations work together for the people of Europe.”
Mr Howard’s speech can be seen as an attempt to shore up Conservative support against the UKIP.
Recent polls have seen the UKIP gaining support in with their hardline argument that the UK should withdraw from the European Union.
A poll on Saturday for the Daily Telegraph suggested that the UKIP could win 20 per cent of the vote.
The UKIP itself says that it is “emerging as a favourite for a mid-term protest against the Government.”
Four Conservative peers had the party whip withdrawn over the weekend after signing a letter indicating their support for the UKIP.
One of those, Lord Pearson of Rannoch said: “It is silly of the leadership to remove the whip from four of us.”
“Many others feel as we do. It would be more helpful if they admitted to the British people that their European project had gone horribly sour and that it is time to leave. UKIP could then return to the Conservative fold.
“Many of us within the party have failed to persuade the leadership to take a much stronger line towards the EU.
“The only party which can retrieve our democracy, our right to govern ourselves, from the corrupt octopus in Brussels is the Conservative Party. The only people at the moment who can make the Conservative leadership understand the strength of popular feeling against the EU is UKIP.”
