Nigel Farage has today, 8th February, raised in Brussels something that I have queried in the past, namely that Article 6.2 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) quite clearly states that the European Union shall accede to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Principles - although this still remains to be completed.
Of course, if MPs are to be allowed a free vote on the subject of 'votes for prisoners' (and there has not been a little 'behind the scenes' flagellation of Conservative MPs) and subsequently do vote against the ECHR ruling, then, as Nigel Farage states, the next democratic stage of the process must be a referendum of the people.
Unfortunately I don't believe Cameron's handbook on "Democratic Dictatorship" has a chapter entitled "Democratic Process"!
Digressing - as is my wont - I was intrigued by this article in the Guardian. Setting to one side that UKIP may be in receipt of an early Christmas 'cracker' in the form of increased funding, one wonders whether the "high-profile defector" from another party will actually be what is promised. If this were so, might it also be the 'opening of the floodgates'? Carswell and Hannan, you know how you politicians love to 'jump on a bandwagon'................Well?
3 comments:
If you Google Schachtschneider 10 you will find the end of a talk (with English subtitles)by Professor Schachtschneider, Emeritus Professor of Public Law at the University of Erlangen Nuremberg. He was counsel for Dr.Peter Gauweiler in the case which resulted in an injunction against the German President, forbidding him to sign the original EU constitution into law.
Leaving aside the fuss about prisoners' votes for the moment, he says that the Lisbon treaty signs the EU up to the ECHR under a protocol which allows the EU to INTRODUCE THE DEATH PENALTY "in time of war or imminent threat of war" (which is any time at all they choose).
My understanding is that individual member states are signed up to the ECHR under a protocol which forbids the death penalty in all circumstances - but some states have not yet ratified.
I tried to make a fuss about this when the news came out about 3 years ago but nobody (including usually eurosceptic journalists) wanted to know.
On the point of your digression, why don't the big city financiers that are bank-rolling the CP not give it to UKIP instead? UKIP wants London to remain a worlds financial centre. The CP do not.
ES: Yes, recall that point and interesting not one jounalist has raised it.
S: Good question and answer have I none.
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