This is a new, farcical low and David Cameron is losing control | Geoffrey Howe | Comment is free. Unfortunately, last week's events in the House of Commons have brought the debate on Europe within the Conservative party to a new, almost farcical, low. Having previously opposed the introduction of legislation in this parliament to hold a referendum in the next one, the prime minister suddenly allowed a free vote among backbenchers, with the government abstaining, on the extraordinary basis that the party had no policy on the issue.
Then, once more than 100 backbenchers had voted for such a referendum, he insisted that all Tory MPs, whatever their view, should from now on support the proposal, on a three-line whip, whereas only the day before they could take any position they chose. This saga looks more like the politics of the French Fourth Republic than the serious practice of government and it is especially disappointing and damaging on such an important issue – the place of Britain in Europe and the world. This pattern would be repeated across the board internationally. Eurozone now in its longest recession | Business. The eurozone has slumped into its longest recession ever, after economic activity across the region fell for the sixth quarter in a row.
Economic output across the single currency area fell by 0.2% in the first three months of 2013, statistics body Eurostat reported on Wednesday. France, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands all saw their economies shrink as the economic crisis in the eurozone continued to hit its largest economies. Eurostat's figures showed that the eurozone economy has contracted by 1% over the last year, putting further pressure on leaders as unemployment climbs to new record highs.
The 0.2% contraction in the first quarter was an improvement on the 0.6% drop recorded between October and December, but analysts warned that the eurozone's economic outlook is darkening. "What seems incontrovertible, on this evidence, is that the member-states of the euro zone are on the wrong track," commented Stephen Lewis, chief economist at Monument Securities. Michael Gove: I would vote to leave EU | Politics. Michael Gove has entered the seemingly endless Tory row over Europe by admitting he would vote to leave the European Union if a vote were held today. As David Cameron braces himself for junior ministers to rebel and support a pro-referendum revolt against the government's legislative programme, the education minister said Britain dropping out of the union would bring "certain advantages". Gove's intervention has been seen as unhelpful by some Conservative party officials who are in the midst of ensuring that this week's expected vote on an amendment to the Queen's speech does not become a vote on Cameron's authority.
About 100 Eurosceptic MPs are expected to support the amendment, which expresses regret that the Queen's speech did not contain a paving bill for a referendum – an absence that has left many disillusioned and angry. "Yes, I'm not happy with our position with the European Union. But my preference is for a change in Britain's relationship," said Gove. Britain and Europe: mistaking plans for Nigel | Editorial. Trouble, thy name is Nigel. Or so it must seem to David Cameron. In a week, the prime minister's authority has been rocked by Nigel Farage, shaken by the Nigel Evans allegations and now openly challenged by the most important Nigel in recent Conservative history. It is 24 years since Nigel Lawson's resignation signalled the endgame of Margaret Thatcher's premiership. And it needs to be stressed that, for most people under the age of 40, the former chancellor is much less of a name these days than his daughter.
Nevertheless, Lord Lawson proved this week that, at 81, he is still one of the most articulate figures in politics and has lost none of his sense of theatre. By saying, on the eve of the Queen's Speech, that he thinks Britain should now quit the European Union, he has poured petrol on the flames already licking through the Conservative mansion after last week's local election defeats. Lord Lawson is not just wrong about the underlying issue of Britain and Europe. Lawson's EU intervention is a preview of the Tory war to come. There is a significant body of opinion in the Conservative Party that will not be satisfied until David Cameron finally supports what they really crave: unilateral withdrawal from the EU.
That group has now won its most significant recruit in the form of Nigel Lawson. In a 2,000 word essay in today's Times, the fomer Tory chancellor writes that the EU has become "a bureaucratic monstrosity" that imposes "substantial economic costs" on its members, and that "the case for exit is clear". Having voted in favour of membership in the 1975 referendum, Lawson declares that he will vote "out" in 2017. For Cameron, already struggling to fend off demands for an early EU "mandate referendum" after UKIP's performance in the county council elections, the intervention could not come at a worse time. The Prime Minister's strategy is premised on the belief that the UK can use the euro crisis to repatriate major powers from Brussels, but Lawson warns that he is doomed to fail. There's little chance of Britain leaving the EU | Peter Kellner.
Will the United Kingdom still be a member of the European Union in 2020? Let us examine three scenarios. 1. The Conservatives win the 2015 election and David Cameron is able to redeem his promise to renegotiate Britain's membership terms and hold a referendum in 2017. If current public hostility to the EU remains, it might look as if withdrawal is likely. Now for the better news. Second, YouGov has started asking a second question: Imagine the British government under David Cameron renegotiated our relationship with Europe and said that Britain's interests were now protected, and David Cameron recommended that Britain remain a member of the European Union on the new terms.
Every time we have asked this question we have found that those saying "stay in" clearly outnumber those who say "get out". I would expect this to happen in a real referendum. So: in a Conservative-inspired referendum in 2017, the leaders of all three main parties would advocate a vote for remaining in the EU. 2. 3. Cyprus savings levy: UK government to compensate troops and civil servants | World news.
The government is to protect the savings of British military personnel and civil servants in Cyprus who were facing the prospect of a levy as part of the €10bn (£8.7bn) eurozone bailout on the Mediterranean island, George Osborne has announced. The chancellor also told The Andrew Marr Show on BBC1 that Cypriot banks based in the UK would be unaffected by the 9.9% levy on savings over €100,000. There will also be a 6.75% levy on savings below €100,000. The chancellor said: "What I would say about the Cyprus situation is first of all we are not part of the bailout because David Cameron got us out of these euro bailouts when he became prime minister. "Second, the Cypriot banks in Britain are not going to be included in this bank tax.
It is a very difficult situation for people who live in Cyprus. Around €2bn of British deposits are estimated to be held in Cyprus, including accounts for British-born Cypriots, some of the 3,500 military personnel on the island and owners of holiday homes. Judges would regret Human Rights Act repeal, warns Lady Hale | Law. Lady Hale, a leading member of the supreme court, also said judges should hail from different parts of the legal world to ensure gender equality.
Photograph: Getty The UK's most senior female judge has said her fellow justices would "regret" any decision by a future government to repeal the Human Rights Act. Lady Hale, a leading member of the supreme court and a potential candidate for the post of deputy president, also said that withdrawing from the human rights court in Strasbourg would require Britain to leave the EU. She was answering questions from students and others at the London School of Economics on Wednesday evening as part of a conversation chaired by Prof Conor Gearty. Asked first about benefits of repealing the Human Rights Act 1998, a suggestion made by the lord chancellor, Chris Grayling, Hale explained this would allow parliament to pass laws that were not compatible with the European convention on human rights. European court of human rights, Strasbourg. Tory ministers plot Human Rights Act repeal | Politics. Chris Grayling said he wanted a 'dramatically curtailed role for the European court of human rights in the UK'.
Photograph: Steve Back/Barcroft Media Senior Tory cabinet ministers have raised the prospect of pulling Britain out of the European convention on human rights, despite a pledge by David Cameron that the party will not lurch to the right in the wake of its drubbing in the Eastleigh byelection. Chris Grayling, the justice secretary, claimed that a future Conservative majority government would scrap the Human Rights Act, which enshrines the ECHR in domestic law. Theresa May, the home secretary, has reportedly been working on the plans for the Tories' next manifesto.
In the Eastleigh byelection on Thursday the Tories came third behind the Liberal Democrats and the UK Independence party, prompting soul-searching among MPs and ministers. "That is lowest common denominator politics – and it gets you nowhere. The ministers' reported claims were met with disquiet within the Tory party. Wall St. Helped Greece to Mask Debt Fueling Europe’s Crisis. Italy's left loses the popularity contest again | Alberto Toscano.
'The undisputed victor [of the Italian election] is of course Beppe Grillo, leader and sole brand owner of the Five Star Movement.' Photograph: Riccardo Venturi/Contrasto / eyevine It's not every day that Corriere della Sera, the historic mouthpiece of Italian capitalism, quotes Mao Zedong. On Monday, sensing the chaotic scenario that now transpires from the official results of Italy's general election, one of their leader writers recalled, in a tone of trepidation, the famous dictum: "Great disorder under heaven; the situation is excellent". The day after, the disorder is plain for all to see. And there are two men for whom the situation is indeed excellent. Berlusconi bounced back improbably by stressing his key message, now retooled for times of austerity: contempt for any attempt on behalf of law or state to curb acquisitive individualism. Three interlinked explanations offer themselves: the euro; unemployment; and the public rallies.
Ed Miliband unnerves colleagues by rejecting in-out EU referendum | Politics. Ed Miliband risked alienating some voters, and unnerving sections of his own shadow cabinet, when he stood firm on Wednesday, saying he was opposed to an in-out referendum on the terms proposed by David Cameron. The Tories seized on his statement, claiming he was against an in-out referendum, but Miliband's aides said the party only opposed a referendum now. However, the Conservatives were confident that the Labour leader had made a disastrous political error for which he would pay a price at the next election. Grant Shapps, the Conservative chairman, said: "It's clear that Labour doesn't trust the British public to have their say on their country's future. " But those senior members of the shadow cabinet that would have preferred a clearer pro-referendum line bit their lips, saying the option remained open.
Others claimed Cameron would enjoy a short-term hit, but that the speech would not age well. One source said: "It depends how important Europe becomes in the election. David Cameron's EU speech: panel verdict. Link to video: David Cameron promises in-out EU referendum Emma Reynolds: Bad for British business The prime minister's speech today demonstrated that he is following rather than leading his own backbenchers on the issue of Europe.
Instead of promoting the national interest, his speech focused on addressing the deep divisions within the Conservative party. It has more to do with his party's interest than it does with foreign policy. Announcing a referendum today to take place in 2017 is bad for British business and could dangerously jeopardise vital inward investment at precisely the time when the economy most needs it. He has also ignored the friendly advice of President Obama and many European leaders that the UK's influence is much stronger as part of the world's largest single market and trading bloc. Cameron may want to claim credit for making this announcement after much delay and dither – but in reality it has only created more uncertainty. . • Nigel Farage is leader of Ukip.
Ed Miliband unnerves colleagues by rejecting in-out EU referendum | Politics. Cameron speech: France offers 'red carpet' to UK firms. 23 January 2013Last updated at 09:56 ET By Brian Milligan Business reporter, BBC News Laurent Fabius rejects the idea that the UK can "do Europe a la carte" The French foreign minister says France will welcome any businesses that leave the UK, should the country exit the European Union. Reacting to David Cameron's speech on Europe, Laurent Fabius said: "If the UK decides to leave the EU, we will roll out the red carpet to businessmen. " But business groups in the UK were more supportive of Mr Cameron's speech. The prime minister has pledged to hold fresh negotiations and an "in/out" referendum on UK membership of the EU.
"You can't do Europe a la carte," Mr Fabius said, responding to the pledges. "I'll take an example which our British friends will understand. Mr Fabius's remark about the red carpet was in response to an invitation made by the UK Prime Minister last year. But the UK's biggest business organisation, the CBI, expressed support. Uncertainty worries Continue reading the main story. EU budget: how much does each country pay and where does it get spent? | News. EU budget: where does the European Union spend our money? The EU budget is being pored over in Brussels right now. Writes Ian Traynor today: David Cameron is pressing for tens of billions of euros in cuts to the EU's next seven-year budget as the price for Britain's agreement at the Brussels summit, which could run into Saturday morning.
With an annual budget of over €129bn, the EU is an economic power in its own right, more significant than many countries. So, how do those finances break down? This latest detailed data - from 2011 - shows where the hard cash goes - and where it flows from. Extracted from the EU budget site, we've gone for the most detailed recent numbers. Most of the EU's money comes from member nation contributions, €103.2bn in 2011. So, this is how it goes:• €13.8bn is the total raised from the UK.
So, where does the money go? Choose a country to see where the EU spends its money How much does each country give and receive per person? Data summary Download the data NEW!