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Déjà vu all over again
Sir James Goldsmith During the 1990s, the political debate about Europe in Britain was polluted by Sir James Goldsmith and his Referendum party. (I have thought a lot about which verb to use in that...
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Who votes for the US president?
Barack Obama - who voted for him? This blog has reported previously on the American presidential election system and the way it represents the country unevenly, by starting the primary process in one...
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How to make a referendum on Europe fair
David Nuttall MP (right), proposer of the House of Commons motion, pictured with his chief opponent (picture davidnuttall.info) There is a debate in the House of Commons this afternoon on whether to...
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Don’t bind my hands
John Major In the 1997 general election, Conservative party leader John Major was reduced to pleading with his candidates who wanted to rule out, for ever, British membership of the euro. In a...
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A referendum in Greece?
George Papandreou, prime minister of Greece (picture MARKELLOS / Flickr) It is hard, at the time of writing, to know what to make of the suggestion that there should be a referendum in Greece on the...
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The referendum in the United Kingdom (21 May 2012)
The Italian Cultural Institute and the Devolution Club invite you to the Seventh Italian-British Constitutional Conversation on “The referendum in the United Kingdom” Monday 21 May 2012 – 6.00 pm...
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Party views of a referendum on Europe
Campaigners for a referendum The prospect of a referendum on British membership of the EU continues to hang over British politics. (Federal Union has warned of the reasons why such a referendum might...
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Prospects for a referendum on Europe
David Cameron (picture The Prime Minister’s Office) Report on discussion at the Federal Union committee The prime minister will give his long-awaited speech on his new Europe policy this coming Friday....
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The Speech
David Cameron (picture Number 10 Downing Street) So we have finally heard The Speech. David Cameron spoke this morning to outline what Conservative party policy on Europe would be after the next...
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No end to the controversy
Brendan Donnelly Brendan Donnelly, Director of the Federal Trust and a former Member of the European Parliament, has commented as follows on Mr Cameron’s speech on Britain’s position in the European...
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The two faces of William Hague
William Hague The traditional definition of chutzpah is the man who, on convicted of the murder of his parents, asks the court for mercy on the grounds that he is an orphan. After William Hague’s...
View ArticleIt’s arrived!
The first set of reports from the government’s Balance of Competences (BoC) review emerged yesterday after 9 months gestation to a joyous public reception. The fountains in Trafalgar Square and even...
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An odd plan for a referendum
Adam Afriyie MP (picture Tiglath-Pileser IV) Rogue Tory backbencher Adam Afriyie – the man spoken of by his friends as a possible challenger to David Cameron or the British equivalent of Barack Obama –...
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Grant Shapps’ feelings
Grant Shapps (picture Communities and Local Government Office) The latest stage in the saga of British departure from the European Union is struck today by Tory party chairman, Grant Shapps MP. The...
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Federal Union review of 2013
David Cameron (picture Number 10 Downing Street) The overwhelming sensation from 2013 was that of waiting. Important processes have started and not yet concluded. There is a certain amount to be done...
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Stab in the back
An illustration from a 1919 Austrian postcard showing a caricatured Jew stabbing the German Army in the back with a dagger A persistent complaint from the eurosceptics is that the British people were...
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Votes for prisoners comes nearer
Jack Straw, man of action (picture Ministry of Justice) Economics and immigration are not the only battlegrounds in the debate about Britain and the EU. The rulings from the European Court of Human...
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Parliament still matters
Black Rod – vestigial In parallel with the court case on whether parliament is required to authorise the departure of the UK from the European Union (read about it here and here), there has been an...
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The Speech
David Cameron (picture Number 10 Downing Street) So we have finally heard The Speech. David Cameron spoke this morning to outline what Conservative party policy on Europe would be after the next...
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No end to the controversy
Brendan Donnelly Brendan Donnelly, Director of the Federal Trust and a former Member of the European Parliament, has commented as follows on Mr Cameron’s speech on Britain’s position in the European...
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