Ancram: Tories must be strong on Europe
The Conservatives cannot afford to ignore the issue of Europe in their debate over the future of the party, deputy leader Michael Ancram will say today.
In a speech this afternoon, former shadow foreign secretary will say the silence on the issue was “astonishing” given the positioning of national sovereignty at the heart of Conservatism.
And Mr Ancram will call on the Conservatives to elect a leader who would take a firm line on Europe and “stand up for Britain”.
The Tory leadership hopeful believes the aftermath of the French and Dutch referenda rejecting the EU constitution provides the first opportunity for reforming the union in decades.
“The French and Dutch votes have in practice provided the first real chance in 40 years to press for serious reform in Europe, to reject the self-destructive concept of federalism and to build a genuine partnership of sovereign states,” he will tell party members in his Wiltshire constituency.
“The existing treaties will need to be renegotiated. The opportunity is enormous. It must not be squandered.”
Mr Ancram will insist it is possible to reform the EU, rejecting the belief that national sovereignty could not be regained, nor inefficiency reformed. Conversely, failure to change the union would be a “recipe for Europe’s eventual implosion”.
What is needed, Mr Ancram will say, is a strong party with a strong leader “which does not take no for an answer” on reforming the European Union.
“The Conservative party alone can provide that leadership. We need to produce a leader who will stand up for Britain rather than being fobbed off by Euro-flattery,” he will say.
“One who will tell our partners in Europe that the majority of the British people want neither the rigidly bureaucratic status quo nor any further advance towards a country called Europe.
“One who will persuade our partners that change towards a flexible Europe is not only possible but necessary and that we will do all in our power to achieve it.”
Mr Ancram continued: “We urgently need a leader with the courage, the passion, the ability and the determination to preserve our sovereignty and to deliver that partnership of sovereign nation states.”
