'Europe' raises it's ugly head

"Democracy has proved only that the best way to gain power over people is to assure the people that they are ruling themselves. Once they believe that, they make wonderfully submissive slaves."
Joseph Sobran in The Myth of 'Limited Government'

 "On 9 October a letter from the Prime Minister was read out to the delegates attending the annual Conservative Party Conference held that year in Blackpool. The man who carried out the task would himself move into Downing Street ten days later. The Prime Minister’s letter stated: ‘It will not be possible for me to carry the physical burden of leading the Party at the next General Election…In these circumstances I hope that it will soon be possible for the customary processes of consultation to be carried on within the Party about its future leadership’."

And the problems are that the present incumbent in No 10 doesn't realise that he lacks the ability, nor will he admit it; and that, most regrettably, there is no-one else who has the gravitas, nor ability, to take his place.

Today being the start of the Conservative Party conference, there are various articles in the media about the UK, it's membership of the European Union and what Cameron needs to do about it. We have Gerald Warner castigating the political system and parties, virtually but not quite calling for a revolution; we are informed that MPs will have one day to debate our membership of the EU, although the result of that debate would not be binding on the government; Norman Tebbit writing that we need to know just how Conservative David Cameron really is and suggesting what he needs to tell his conference, party and nation; and finally William Hague categorically stating that there will not be any referendum granted on our membership of the EU. All the articles linked to have one common theme - they all illustrate that our political system is screwed; that politicians act as elected dictators and thus the people's ability to hold their supposedly elected representatives to account is minimal.

To even suggest that David Cameron is a Conservative at heart and not a Liberal Democrat is, in my opinion, absurd when it has been obvious from the start that he is Left-of-Centre in his political beliefs. It is only necessary to consider his party's manifesto for the 2010 general election - one I would suggest he imposed on his party - to confirm my opinion. That Cameron will not - and cannot - do that which 'Stormin Norman' suggests is also a rather absurd suggestion as it would just confirm Cameron's lack of principle where his political beliefs are concerned and that he formed the Coalition for purely personal career reasons.

That our politicians are delusional is confirmed today by Douglas Carswell apparently joining their ranks with his latest post and his plea to 'stop blaming Nick Clegg'. For Carswell to state that we have a Centre-Right administration is utter tosh, especially when to quote Norman Tebbit: "So far, Mr Clegg has skilfully pulled the coalition leftwards into the never-never land of Europhile, green, politically correct, business- bashing, nice windmills and no wicked plastic bags that is inhabited by his activists." - although to be fair I don't believe Cameron need much 'pulling'. For Carswell to promote his vision of 'Localism', one giving power to the people whilst denying that it does no such thing as the element of final control still rests with central government is most definitely delusional. It also begs the question on what planet has Carswell been living for the past 16 months?

Reverting to the matter of principle and that politicians have none, Janet Daley has an article in today's Sunday Telegraph confirming just that point. Her article begs the question of the political elite - and all politicians - that if one has no principles by which a life is led, then just what is the point of their existence?

To paraphrase the words of Pete Seeger: "Where have all the politicians gone?" When will we learn they care not one jot for the people they are meant to serve and only care about themselves and their careers? When will we realise, as a people, that government by elected dictators is not freedom but just another form of servitude?