Tory Wars

[Sheilbh]

Apparently it's a protocol, not a treaty.   From what I can tell they still need the permission of the 27 to use EU institutions.  And apparently the Irish still need to have a referendum

It'll be interesting to see what's in the protocol, but the Tories are now comparing Cameron to Maggie and saying that at long last we're behaving like the French.

Edit:  I also think this is the first step on our eventual withdrawal

I saw a quote from a French diplomat who said the British 'behaved like a man who goes to a wife-swapping party without his wife'

[Richard Hakluyt]

The Irish will probably have several referenda, I doubt the first one will provide the "right" answer.

[Sheilbh]

The Tories are wallowing in full blown nineties nostalgia.

In August the radical libertarian MP Douglas Carswell defected to UKIP. He then resigned his seat triggering a by-election (so his constituents have their say - and it looks like this could be a new little accretion to the constitution as it's a pretty difficult to resist precedent) which he's widely expected to win handsomely.

Then the government held a vote on bombing ISIS in Iraq which they won handily. Lots of people joked about UKIP moaning that the timing of the vote on Friday was designed to ruin their conference. This would be laughable if several Tory strategists hadn't briefed that the best thing about having the vote on Friday was that it'd 'fuck UKIP's conference'. A Tory minister resigned on principle because he opposed the bombing.

Today the UKIP conference wound up with Farage announcing a second Tory MP (more old school Thatcherite than Carswell and more motivated by Europe) Mark Reckless had defected. Reckless then came on stage to give a speech and will probably resign his seat for another, closer by-election.

Then a couple of hours later another minister resigned after being caught in a sting sending cock pictures to Mirror journalists who posed as random women. No doubt we'll soon get an awkward photo of him and his wife supporting each other.

They're fighting over Europe, there's principled resignations and there's the odd sleazy Minister having to step down too.

No doubt Labour's charismatic reformist leader will be able to take advantage of this.




Oh.

[Viking]

There is a good old-school headline at the Guardian right now :

"Eurozone countries go it alone with new treaty that excludes Britain"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/dec/09/eurozone-countries-treaty-exclude-britain

Poor souls, I do hope they will be alright 

Fog in Channel, Continent cut off?

[Josquius]

It is really bizzare to watch video footage from the 70s and 80s where the Tories were pro and labour anti Europe

I've read there's a third Tory mp ready to defect at a strategic time (post Tory conference iirc)

[Martinus]

Goddamnit stop with the fucking thread resurrection. I lost 10 minutes before I realised this is fucking 3 years old. Why can't you fucking start a new thread?

[Admiral Yi]

Why can't you click the "New" button like a civilized human being?

[Sheilbh]

Why can't you click the "New" button like a civilized human being?

If I had a thread from 1990 about Tory wars I'd be resurrecting that every time they go proper mental about Europe.

[Warspite]

Is it time for the eurosceptics to: put up or shut up?

(10 internet pounds to whoever gets the reference.)

[Valmy]

I am glad we don't have any threads from the early 90s.  All my angst over George Bush losing to Bill Clinton would be painful to relive.

[Sheilbh]

Is it time for the eurosceptics to: put up or shut up?

The bastards never do.

[mongers]

Modern technology is sometimes Brilliant, love the fact that such a self-important man has been brought low because he choose to send a photo of his todger to a young eligible women. 

[Neil]

The picture of Miliband is worse than the cock pics.

[jimmy olsen]

At least we Germans will have a scapegoat then. 

One might even call it a stab in the back.

EDIT: Beaten by myself!

[Valmy]

You have got to be kidding me Tim.