There are none so blind as those who will not see, there are none so deaf as those who will not listen

"Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you"
Pericles (attributed)

A quotation to which the people of this nation need to pay serious - and immediate - attention. Do the people not notice the gradual and continuous loss of their freedoms and if they do, why do they signal their consent by their silence on the issue?

David Blackburn ,in an article on the Coffee House, in which he writes about the apparent rise of Ed Miliband in connection with the Murdoch affair and that the Murdochs are just the start of the necessary renewal he [EdM] envisages for British public life, quotes EdM thus:

"We've seen it in politics with the expenses scandal, we've seen it in banking. We have got to be willing to speak out because it is damaging the fabric of the country, the ethic of the country. We can't have the responsible country that I think we need if this is going on among the most powerful people in the country."

As with most, if not all, politicians, EdM is extremely seIective on that he wishes to speak out. Is not membership of the European Union damaging the country? Is not the influx of immigrants from the EU damaging the fabric of our country by the additional burdens it places on our social services? Is not the social engineering practised by the last government, of which EdM was a member, a practise continued by the present government, not damaging the fabric of our country? Is it not impossible to have the responsible country that EdM envisages whilst the powerful politicians in the land refuse to be open and frank with the people? Is it not impossible to have democracy whilst the powerful politicians continue to act as if the country was their personal fiefdom, to do with as they wish regardless of the will of the people?

We have William Hague with two articles in today's Sunday Telegraph (here and here) suggesting that we should be in Europe but not run by Europe and that we should make the EU work to our advantage. Has this fool not realised that we are run by Europe? He may prattle on that the EU offers a lot for Britain, in which case why have successive governments failed to publish a cost/benefit analysis? Surely if, as polticians of all parties maintain, the benefits are obvious, does not logic dictate that if they did indeed exist politicians would be showering us with statistic after statistic proving the fact? As for his much vaunted Referendum Lock which he maintains will allow the British people a say over any further treaty change or a so-called "ratchet clause" – the self-amending provisions brought in by the Lisbon Treaty – that shifts further powers from the UK to the EU, he conveniently omits to state that the decision whether any such transfer of power exists, rests with government ministers.

That the EU continues to have an ever encroaching say in how our country is 'managed' is beyond doubt, a process which as always occurs with stealth, the possible ramifications of which are always denied by our government. An example of this is the story in the Mail on the subject of the UK Coastguard service. It is reported that the EU has a plan, one to be voted on by the European Parliament in October, resulting in an EU Coastguard being created to 'effectively combat current or future dangers at sea such as terrorism, piracy and trafficking'. The article quotes an EU spokesman stating that once it is approved by the Parliament as a whole, it will be forwarded to the Commission, Council and Member States. The Commission then may come up with legislative proposals or take measures based on the content of the report. This is followed by a statement by Tory Shipping Minister Mike Penning stating that the proposals would be resisted by the UK Government, whilst adding that a European Coastguard is not a concept that the UK would support. Now where have we heard all that before?

To continue on this theme of invidious encroachment where the governance of this country is concerned, consider two articles recently published. The first, courtesy of the Albion Alliance, links to an article from the European Police College about a recent meeting in Rome at which the importance of CEPOL was pointed out in relation to the training of the “European policeman” aimed at safeguarding EU citizen’s security. "European policemen"? The second item comes from Politics Home in which it is reported that Cathy Ashton will present a proposal for a new permanent headquarters to "command and control" future civilian and military campaigns. "Command and control future civilian campaigns"? Both terms; "European policemen" and"command and control civilian campaigns" rings alarm bells with this blogger as I am sure it does with any person who considers his own freedoms to be paramount.

Goodnight Vienna, CallingEngland, writes that she used to talk of authoritarianism and communitarianism but now believes we're moving on now and wandering into the realms of a totalitarian fascist state. More importantly, as she says: it's there for all who have eyes to see and ears to hear; which brings me back to the heading of this post and the initial quotation.

Unless the people of this nation immediately arouse themselves from their own self-centred little world, they will find in the not-too-distant future that they no longer have a voice, they no longer have a vote and they sure as hell won't have a country to call their own.