Tory Deal With EU

According to Bruno the Conservatives have sent Ken Clarke to Brussels to meet with Jose Manuel Barroso to signal that a Conservative government is one which is not going to cause any trouble to the EU's grand plans.  Bruno, who is based in Brussels, says that:

The two-day visit to Brussels, which begins on Tuesday, by the most pro-EU member of David Cameron's cabinet-in-waiting is seen by European officials as a signal that a new Conservative administration will work with the EU executive rather battling against it.

Ken Clarke will also meet with Michel Barnier who is the French Commissioner for the Internal Market and I would imagine they will discuss the disembowlling of the City of London and gradual handover of power of our markets to the EU Commission.

Such a move should not come as a surprise to anybody but in my opinion is going to be held up as yet another stick with which to beat long-suffering EU Sceptic Conservatives who will again be taking a long hard look at UKIP.

Let me again give reference to the Albion Alliance, who are seeking to get candidates from across all parties to pledge to a referendum on EU Membership before the General Election.  There are a number of candidates who have indicated that they fear being deselected if they pledge before the General Election, and as such the Albion Alliance has introduced a secret pledge function so that candidates can pledge now without fear of the party whip.  Their support will be announced once the General Election has been called, when deselection is no longer an option.  We must maintain and in fact increase the pressure on our MPs and perspective MPs and we have to do it this side of the General Election.  Conservative Candidates can of course pledge, but I suspect they may need a decent indication of local support for doing so.

If you are someone who wants to cast an EU Sceptic vote, but you are not sure if your candidates rhetoric is solid, or if it is all more guff, then what is the harm in spending a couple of minutes to email them?  Just because a candidate has already been emailed, does not mean that with the benefit of repeated requests will be lost on them.

I wouldn't mind wagering that Ken Clarke's trip will grate on those Conservatives who hold the hope that the party will shift to a more EU Sceptic position when in office.