Thursday 26 January 2012

Time to call a halt

The Purple Scorpion posts on George Eustice's comment on the operation of Structural Funds from the EU and his comment that "There is no such thing as EU money. We simply get some of our own money back". Echoing the cry of Richard North, EU, Referendum, one has to ask Eustice: just who is this "We"? TPS rightly comments:
"It follows that there is no such thing as UK government money either. Remember that, George, every time you eat a subsidised meal at Westminster. That money belongs to the people, to your constituents. That goes for every penny your government spends."
With acknowledgement to 13th Spitfire, on the same subject it is worth Eustice remembering that governments cannot give to anybody anything that governments do not first take from somebody else.


Bruno Waterfield reports on another, what might be termed political, scam whereby MEPs receive thousands in cash to subsidise visits to the European Parliament for their 'constituents'. Then of course there are those enjoyable 'fact-finding' trips abroad, at our expense, for MPs and MEPs and 'second homes' so necessary for our MPs to 'function'. Oh and why are we paying MPs £64K per annum when they are, in some instances, earning that from their 'outside interests'?


As Richard North, EU Referendum, posts, why are we paying for Dav il Cam to 'lecture' at Davos that "Europe" must "stop throttling growth with excessive bureaucracy" whilst rolling out a massive amount of climate change legislation, and at the same time supporting Basel III and the EU's programme of turning it into law?


Is it not time that we said and did something? Like insisting on a form of direct democracy and 'referism' - the latter a means by which, before the political class can spend our money, they have to ask our permission; and the former a means by which we have the ability to halt policies with which we do not agree?


Just asking.............

6 comments:

James Higham said...

And thus the days pass.

WitteringsfromWitney said...

JH: And the way to stop the days passing is....?

Martin Cole said...

Angela Merkel has more or less called for a federal Europe, in what appears to me as a response to Cameron's speech at Davos earlier today. Both are covered with links on Ironies Too

john in cheshire said...

I still think that each MP should be funded by the local constituency. If it is a poor constituency then his/her income might be quite low. If the local constituency doesn't want him/her to spend more than £1 per day on meals, then that's their decision. And if the prospective candidate for MP doesn't like the conditions of the local constituency, then he/she doesn't need to stand. The outcome might be that every MP will be paid a different amount for representing their voters; and perhaps it would spur them on to improve the wealth of those for whom they work. In doing this, we remove subsidised meals and drinks for the masses (of MPs) and force the ba**ards to come to their masters for more money, with suitable justification.

WitteringsfromWitney said...

MC: Off to have a 'dekko'.....

jic: Interesting suggestion and one I may well put into the paper I am doing.....

We could of course specify that like normal employed people they pay for their own food and drink - or if they wish to subsidise that subsidy comes out of their own pockets....

john in cheshire said...

WfW, feel free to use; I'm flattered. Particularly if it results in a change in how MPs are funded.