The One That Wonders What The Point Is. . .

So today the SNP are outlining their plans for independence. It would seem that Alex Salmond is very keen for the Scots to have a referendum on the subject.

Well why not? I have no vested interest in the Union. I'd like to think it would save me money if it were broken up, but I know full well that any actual financial savings made by England in the event of Scotland's departure from the Union would be soaked up by some other scheme. Nevertheless, if the majority of the people of Scotland want to split from England then that is only right.

The thing is, I'm not entirely sure that a majority of Scots (or perhaps more importantly, Scottish resident Brits) do want the Union to split. I think the oily fish is on a hiding to nothing. Sat in Edinburgh at the head of a minority government, an expensive and divisive referendum would cause terminal damage to his administration if it were returned with a no vote.

I'm not surprised that the Tories are against it, nor the Lib Dems, but I am surprised that the Scottish Labour party aren't, if not supporting it, certainly making noises that this question needs sorting out. In the likely event of a no vote, I think Labour would find their position in Scotland strengthened considerably.

That is unless of course, as some armchair constitutional lawyers have suggested on the radio this morning, that in order for it to be a democratically and constitutionally satisfactory referendum, everyone in the Union would have to have their say. If that were the case then I really don't know what the outcome would be. I think just as many English would vote in favour of kicking out the Scots as would vote in favour of locking them in. Many would vote one way or the other to piss the Scots off and many would do the same out of a genuine desire to see Scotland get the best. It would be a bloody mess.

The question that the SNP conveniently evades is independence from what?

On the face of it, the answer is an obvious one. England. But of course, it isn't real independence. The bloody great white elephant is still in the room. That being the EU. There is no independence from England, England is not in the driving seat. If Scotland wants true national independence, they need to have two questions on the referendum, one asking if a split from England is desirable and a second asking in the event of a yes vote in question one, do you want to remain in the EU.

This is an EU that has railroaded the Lisbon Treaty through. A treaty that was ushered in with nary a murmur from the Westminster parliament and one that Alex Salmond would have quite cheerfully signed if he were Prime Minister of an 'independent' Scotland.

Captain Ranty has a superb outline of a few of the rights that disappear from existence at midnight tomorrow night, including the removal of habeas corpus, trial by jury, the supposition of innocence over guilt and democracy. Just criticising the EU will become a criminal offence at midnight.

If Scotland wants independence, true independence, I'll back them to the hilt. If they get it, I'll be looking at the property pages in Stirling and Perth with great interest.

The One That Is Waiting To See. . .

So the Czechs have been given an exemption from the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (link in Czech), obviously those rights aren't as fundamentally important as getting Klaus to sign on the dotted line then.

So that leaves the Czech Constitutional Court as the remaining bulwark between the status quo and complete ratification of the Lisbon Treaty. It would seem that the chances of this treaty being live at the time of a British general election are somewhere between slim and none then.

All too often we Libertarians are accused of nihilism, so I'm going to buck that stereotype. I'm not about descend to the very bottom of the slough of despair, I'm not about to write Cameron off.

Just yet.

At conference he said something about not letting it rest there if he got the keys to No. 10 with the Lisbon Treaty on the statute. I don't know what that means, I hope (and this hope is waaaay bigger than any expectation I have) that out of the blue Cameron announces that we're going to have the BIG one. But I'm not holding my breath.

As with much to do with the Conservatives, I don't actually know what it is Cameron wants to do. I get the impression he's in the middle of a fine balancing act, the old EUrophile and EUrophobe divisions are still in the party, they haven't gone away. I have a feeling that Dave is leaning towards the anti camp, his detatching the party from the old centre-right grouping is especially interesting but with Ken Clarke such an important part of his pre and mid election campaign staff, he's got to be very canny.

If he gets in with a healthy majority, then that will give him a lot more room to spread his wings and show us what he's got. I just hope that when he does spread his wings, it was worth the wait.

Anyhow, as sceptical as I may be, I'm not about to condemn a man who has not done anything wrong yet. It would be nice to see him do something right, though.

Perhaps he'll decide to hold a retrospective referendum. An unusual step, but the will of the electorate must take precedence over any other tool of government and if we don't want it, we don't want it. The word of the people is sovereign.

I can't wait for the attack from the left and Brussels if we are given the chance and if that chance results in a 'here's your refund, now fuck off' result. They will then show themselves to be the contemptible and anti-democratic slime they are.

The One That Loves Vaclav Klaus. . .

If I were a homosexualist I'd be sending him flowers and chocolates. As I'm not one, I won't, but I'm secure enough in my sexuality as a straight man to admitting to having the tiniest crush on him.

The Eurosceptic Czech President, Vaclav Klaus, says he wants his country to have an exemption from a key EU charter before he will sign the Lisbon Treaty.

Excellent, where's the long grass, Vaclav? Give it a bloody punt old mate.

The demand threatens a further delay over the treaty, correspondents say.

I think that's the general idea, good old Vaclav seems determined to see if Cameroid is true to his word, and given the response to Boris by the conference this week, he'd better be, or there'll be hell to pay.

I'm now looking forward to:

Klaus tells EU: 'Dog ate our copy of treaty, can you send us a new one?'

and

Klaus accidentally slams writing hand in car door, unable to sign his name for next three months.

Keep 'em coming Vaclav, you're doing a grand job.

The One That Bets They Don't Get The Chance. . .

Jose Manuel Barroso after the Germans throw out the Lisbon Treaty.

According to Open Europe, 77% of Germans want a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.

I've a shiny €10 note that says they don't get it.

Let's look at some of the quotes attributed in this report:

German press agency DPA reported this week that "nobody expects a complete 'No'" from the judges, adding that "a 'yes, but' is considered a possibility.

Errr, no. Try Yes or No. Simple as that.

Irish Europe Minister Dick Roche said in the aftermath of the Irish 'no' vote that "the first thing to learn about referendums - is to avoid them.

The first thing to learn about Dick Roche is to kick him very hard. In the head. Every ten minutes.

Former Commission President Jacques Santer added: "A referendum is good for democracy; it is not always good for a country. We need to make a distinction between democracy and what is good for the country.

News flash, Jacques, you detestible merde petit, the EU is not a country. Fucktard.

Valery Giscard d'Estaing, has explained the reason why it was renamed the Lisbon Treaty, saying: "Above all, it is to avoid having a referendum.

Because referenda look likely to tell us that the electorate don't like our plans, and that won't do, that won't do at all. If we don't ask them, they can't tell us.

However, there is hope:

Bavarian Minister-President Horst Seehofer has said: "We want the population to be asked before German competences are irrevocably transferred to Brussels.

Nice one Horst, fancy pointing that out to Angela?

Silvana Koch-Mehrin, leader of the German liberals in the European Parliament, said: "Without a referendum in Europe the growing gap between the EU and its citizens will keep on growing."

Although the cynic in me must point out that Silvana doesn't say if that is a bad thing or not.

Reporting Judge Udo Di Fabio said: "One has to ask soberly: What competences are left with the Bundestag in the end?" He also bluntly asked "whether it would not be more honest to just proclaim a European federal state". On the transfer of powers to the EU, he said: "Is the idea of going ever more in this direction not a threat to freedom?"

To answer those points; None. Yes, but there would be millions on the streets (but not in the UK, the BBC would show an Eastenders special, before C4 announce a surprise eviction on Big Brother). Yes, yes it is a very direct threat to freedom. I kinda think that's the point.

We're not dead yet, but we're not at all well. The Czechs and Poles have yet to sign, I'm unsure about the Danes' state of play, and perhaps the Irish will be persuaded by the no camp that the EU thinks they are all stupid bog trotters who should do as they are fucking told. Perhaps we can send them a picture like this?


It may not be flattering for us in England, but it'll allow the Irish to get the message.

The One That Is Tipping His Hat To Lech Kaczynski. . .

This is Lech Kaczynski, noble looking chap, isn't he?

He happens to be the President of Poland, he seems to have *ahem* slight authoritarian leanings, but as they say the enemy of my enemy. . .

Now, this may come as a surprise to some of you, but I'm not entirely happy about the EU. However, nothing is all bad, and one of the very rare good points about the EU is the fact that it has enabled us to be closer to the Poles. I like the Poles a great deal, they are in the main, honest, hard-working, patriotic people, they fought like lions alongside allied troops in the second world war and there is some startling statistic about the amount of Lufwaffe aircraft shot down by Polish airmen. Were it not for these people it is highly likely that the Battle of Britain would have been lost. It is a crying shame that Communism and the Cold War kept us apart for so long. In short, I believe Poland is a country we can do business with.

Oh, hullo! It looks like the Poles are doing their best to help us out again. The aforementioned Mr. Kaczynski is now giving serious thought to not putting his John Hancock on the Polish ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, citing that it would be pointless in light of the Irish referendum. Bloody well done. Isn't it marvellous how new boys in the shape of Poland and the Czech Republic could be the people to put the final nail in the coffin of this odious and anti-democratic treaty? If only our government had the same guts.

And whilst I'm on the subject, Al-Beeb, the Bullshit Broadcasting Corportation, or as I like to call them, those fucktards in White City have said:

All 27 EU members must ratify the document.

Oh really now? MUST they? What will happen if they do not? Will the Euro-corps (hahahahaha) come rolling over the plains like the Nazis and the Soviets? You arrogant fuckers, the Poles kicked the spirit crushing Communists into touch with one of the most spirited revolutions in history. I'm reckoning the Poles aren't going to be leant on by these dictatorial, self-appointed arse clowns in Brussels. More power to them.

The One That Is Amazed With The Bone Headedness. . .

There's been reams written about it, a forest of paper and a lake of ink taken up in newsprint, but since the Irish voted 'No' to Lisbon, one phrase keeps coming to the fore. This little quote is taken from http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3417083,00.html:

The EU executive has commissioned a survey to try and find out what went wrong in Ireland.

I'll tell you what went wrong in Ireland: Nothing.

It was a process of democracy. There is no right or wrong answer, merely an outcome. It may be outcome that you do not agree with, but that does not mean it is wrong. I am thankful that it is an outcome that I find favourable, but make no mistake had the vote been 'Yes' I would have accepted the outcome as the democratic desicion of the Irish people.

I fail to understand why this is so difficult for people to grasp. We had it only a few weeks ago when Boris won the London Mayoral election, those with Labour sympathies were bemoaning the death of democracy and the electorate making the wrong decision.

No, No, No. Not the death of democracy, indeed quite the reverse, an indication that on the occasions when the old war horse is led out of the stable she is as energetic and vital as ever. Not the wrong decision, merely an outcome that is not to your liking.

Unfortunately the wishes of the Irish public would appear to amount to nought. Al-Beeb is trotting out the line that only 3 million people voted in the whole of the EU. That is not a statistic to make the Irish referendum an irrelevance, it is a damning statistic about the dictatorial nature of the EU and their national sub-alterns that so few people have had a say on the treaty. We in the UK have had no direct opportunity to give an opinion since Heath and the Common Market, before I was born, and we certainly didn't vote in favour of this.

The Romanians have come out with some swill that effectively says if people are going to vote the wrong way, then they shouldn't be allowed to vote at all. Dangerous, dangerous ground. Those in Eastern Europe would do well to remember what happened to the Romanian Communist Party and their leaders, I for one will never forget the footage of the moment the crowd turned, Ceaucescu's look of complete incomprehension and the military big-wigs behind him very quietly and efficiently shitting themselves.

These dictatorial post-war regimes lasted 40 years before the populations rose up for a taste of democracy, here in the West we've had that taste for decades, verging on centuries. How long will it take us to rise up? Not as long as 40 years, I'll bet.

The One That Is Delighted With The Irish Throwing Out The Lisbon Treaty. . .

And more power to them, wouldn't it be nice to have a written constitution that demands the consent of the electorate before any changes are made to it?

I'm not going to cover the old argument between the 'it's the same as the EU Constitution', 'no it isn't', 'yes it is' camps.

Have no doubt that had we in the UK had an opportunity to vote on the Lisbon Treaty, the result here would have been exactly the same here as it was in Ireland. I would also imagine that the Dutch and French and no doubt others would have thrown it out. That is the sole reason we've not had the opportunity to pass judgement on it, the government were well aware that they would have lost.

Kudos to Vaclav Klaus the Czech president who has called for ratification of this to be discontinued and brickbats to the French, German and Spanish governments for trying to ride roughshod over the wishes of the Irish people.

There's one thing I don't understand, why are the national governments of Europe so desperate to see more power handed over to Brussels? I just don't get it. I understand why the troughers in the EU Commission want it, they are desperate to control all our lives in some nightmarish Socialist dystopia and to steal as much of our cash as possible whilst they're at it. But why the national governments? I know a large number of MPs are in the game to get as much gravy as they can, but do they not want some modicum of power? It seems to me like employing a man to drive my car, but only when and to where he wants to drive me, it is sheer stupidity.

I want to be close to our neighbours in Europe, I want free movement of trade, goods and people, but that doesn't mean we need to have tax harmonisation, a common foreign policy, the 'Euro-Corps' (HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA) and the all other shite that goes with it, and if we absolutely MUST have this, then give me a vote on Commissioners and the President, give me some audited accounts, a fair and open parliament and at least a pretence of accountability. The ironic thing is that if the EU wanted to join the EU, it wouldn't be allowed to do so because of its economic and democratic practices.

'Do as I say, don't do as I do.' - No I won't. Do as I say: Fuck off.