Monthly Archives: January 2014

Last Sunday, Ken Clarke declared that British Ministers, not Brussels, were to blame for swathes of damaging EU regulation.  It was “a myth” that British politicians had no control.  “We sit in the Council of Ministers, so when European regulation comes … Continue reading →

Single market in Energy We are talking about the importance of creating a genuine Single Market in energy in the EU. At the same time, some member states (like the UK) are pressing ahead with shale gas exploration, while others … Continue reading →

(The mind of Ed Miliband — such as it is!).  People are starting to ask why the Labour Party has not sought to match the Tory pledge of a 2017 EU Referendum — or indeed to go one better and … Continue reading →

I never thought I’d write this, but the European Commission has performed a dramatic U-Turn on climate and energy policy, and has moved some way (though not far enough) in the direction that UKIP has been urging for years. Let … Continue reading →

  Mr. President: Ladies & gentlemen: It’s a real honour to be here tonight in this very distinguished company in Oxford — an honour I feel all the more strongly as a Cambridge man myself. May I say first of … Continue reading →

The Heritage Foundation’s prestigious index of economic freedom for 2014 has just been published.  It states that over the 20-year history of the Index, the UK’s economic freedom ranking, at 14th, has declined by 3 points.  Worryingly, this is the … Continue reading →

  I recently received a letter from a Party Member who is also a physicist, and questions the Party’s position on climate.  I thought it might be of general interest to publish an edited version of his letter, and of … Continue reading →

In Strasbourg, I often attend meetings of the Kangaroo Group. I admire their commitment to free trade, while rejecting their passion for European integration (they don’t seem to see the contradiction between the two objectives).  I get to learn a lot … Continue reading →

We were voting on Tuesday.  That was the day the parliament voted for “A European Day for Plastic Waste “.  And for import controls on olive oil, and “Community Tariff Quotas for wheat, brans, sharps and meslin”, whatever that is.  … Continue reading →

…the EU debate just won’t go away! The Tory Party has been bedevilled for years by Europe.  Yet its leaders have only themselves to blame.  If only they’d listened to their members, and to the British people, we might have … Continue reading →

On Friday, I went to Edinburgh to assist the local party with the Cowdenbeath MSP by-election.  We have a super candidate in Denise Baykal.  She’s a solicitor by profession, and a relative newcomer to politics, but her enthusiasm is infectious … Continue reading →

I have a high regard for John Redwood, who I believe is one of the most decent men in politics.  In fact he wrote the preface to my most recent book “Sceptic at Large”, and I was most grateful for … Continue reading →

In what has been hailed as the first salvo of the 2015 General Election campaign, Prime Minister David Cameron has pledged to maintain the “Triple Lock” state pension guarantee. This could be regarded as a smart political move — after all, … Continue reading →

Not in Nick Clegg’s play-book! So now we know.  It must be true, because we have it from Nick Clegg, sometimes described as the Deputy Prime Minister (but often described in more colourful terms).  If Britain leaves the EU — … Continue reading →