Britain's Economy Is a Disaster and Nobody Is Entirely Sure Why

[Valmy]

I have no idea who he is.  What is the problem with him?

Sounds like anti-EUness.  I just liked what he had to say on this particular issue.

[Sheilbh]

I have no idea who he is.  What is the problem with him?

He's a Tory MEP and blogger for the Telegraph's blogs (as Private Eye described them 'sheltered housing for the incurably insane'). He makes a very good argument - he's very Oxford union - but basically he's a bit mad, and EU-obsessed, politically.

He'd be on the far-right of the Republican party on most issues. But it's like if you gave Michele Bachmann his accent and style of education she'd probably sound relatively convincing

[The Larch]

Basically:

[The Larch]

I have no idea who he is.  What is the problem with him?

He's a Tory MEP and blogger for the Telegraph's blogs (as Private Eye described them 'sheltered housing for the incurably insane'). He makes a very good argument - he's very Oxford union - but basically he's a bit mad, and EU-obsessed, politically.

He'd be on the far-right of the Republican party on most issues. But it's like if you gave Michele Bachmann his accent and style of education she'd probably sound relatively convincing

He was also one of the leaders of the campaign to withdraw the Tories from the European People's Party group in the EU parliament, afterwards joining the bunch of luminaries they share a group with now.

[Sheilbh]

Yeah he was very vocal on that. In fairness David Cameron had promised that during his leadership campaign. Dan Hannan was just very strong in defending his lovely new colleagues

Edit: Is he known at all in Spain? I think he's fluent in Spanish and sometimes gives Spanish speeches in the EP.

[Zanza]

He and Nigel Farage are the favorites of some Paradox OT posters who love to post their speeches in the EP or at other places.

[Iormlund]

Edit: Is he known at all in Spain? I think he's fluent in Spanish and sometimes gives Spanish speeches in the EP.

I'd be very surprised if most Spaniards could name any British politician other than Blair and maybe Cameron. Places like [Spanish] EUOT are an exception, of course, and Farage and especially Johnson have quite a few fans.

Plus our political culture revolves around parties, not people. Politicians are defined not by their opinions, personality or eloquence, but their relationship with power. So MPs are irrelevant, no matter how eloquent. There are no Farages, Johnsons or Hannans here.

[The Larch]

Yeah he was very vocal on that. In fairness David Cameron had promised that during his leadership campaign. Dan Hannan was just very strong in defending his lovely new colleagues

Edit: Is he known at all in Spain? I think he's fluent in Spanish and sometimes gives Spanish speeches in the EP.

He was born in Perú and was raised between there and Bolivia, as his family were big landowners. Then he was sent to boarding school in Britain. All that family background is like 50 years behind the times.

[The Larch]

Edit: Is he known at all in Spain? I think he's fluent in Spanish and sometimes gives Spanish speeches in the EP.

I'd be very surprised if most Spaniards could name any British politician other than Blair and maybe Cameron. Places like [Spanish] EUOT are an exception, of course, and Farage and especially Johnson have quite a few fans.

Plus our political culture revolves around parties, not people. Politicians are defined not by their opinions, personality or eloquence, but their relationship with power. So MPs are irrelevant, no matter how eloquent. There are no Farages, Johnsons or Hannans here.

Yeah, our colourful politicians are of a very different brand.

[Admiral Yi]

Is the British tradition of formal debate common throughout the continent, or peculiar to the UK?

[The Larch]

Is the British tradition of formal debate common throughout the continent, or peculiar to the UK?

Only British, AFAIK. Our politicians don't debate, they harass each other.

[Iormlund]

I don't know about the rest of Europe, but there's no debate culture here at all.

Most of our politicians are pros, in the sense that they've never had a real job. They join the party in their teens or early twenties and the only measure of success is how well you play the party game. It's no surprise then how inept they are at administering the country once they are in power.

[CountDeMoney]

But it's like if you gave Michele Bachmann his accent and style of education she'd probably sound relatively convincing

Now there's a kick in the nuts you don't see every day.

[CountDeMoney]

Daniel Hannan Destroys The 3 Unquestionable Myths Of Our Crisis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7ZpJeHN0_gw

So glad they still make Englishmen like that guy.

Would've been nice to see Cornel West walk up and give him the business end of a toothbrush-and-spoon prison shiv, though.

[The Larch]

Just watched the Hannan video. The leaps of logic he undertakes at the end are cringe worthy. If somebody used that argument over here they'd be shot down so fast that you wouldn't be able to rescue the wreckage.