The last day of Parliamentary business proved a very busy one indeed with dozens of written statements and two oral statements in the Chamber. I will be returning to some of these subjects in the (hopefully) quieter days ahead. Today, the news is dominated by the Prime Minister’s attempt to make some very minor changes to the terms of our membership of the European Union. There are essentially four requests
- Ensure the UK is not bound by the words ‘ever closer union’ which appear in the introduction to the EU treaty.
- Ensure the countries outside the Eurozone are not treated unfairly.
- Reduce red tape.
- Prevent migrants to the UK from the EU claiming in work benefits for four years after arrival.
The first three are so meaningless they have been agreed immediately almost without debate. The fourth which most people might thing should not even be a matter which concerns the EU. It just demonstrates how powerless the UK has become that even something like deciding who receives benefits from our welfare system can no longer be decided by us.
Even if the change were agreed it would not have much effect on the numbers coming to the UK because all the figures I have seen show that only a minority claim benefits in the first twelve months which they presumably would do if that were a main reason for them coming to the UK.
The main point is that 99% of our terms of our membership are not even been debated. The U.K. will still be part of the Common Fisheries Policy the Common Agricultural Policy, we we still have to pay around a billion pounds a month (net) just to be members of the EU. Incidentally, it is the fact that we pay such a large amount each year towards the running costs of the EU that the others are desperate for us to stay.
We would still have to go begging to Brussels if the Government wanted to help industry as we have seen recently over broadband and the steel industry. It is frankly demeaning.
The suggestions that we would be isolated if we left are simply nonsense. We would be the EU’s biggest single market. The Germans would still want to sell us their cars the French their wine. I want so see us have free trade deals with all the countries in the World not just the few that make up the EU.
Britain would not only survive we would thrive outside the EU.
David Nuttall 
We agree in our household with your sentiments too. If the 28 PM’s at a meeting in Brussels where all hungry they couldn’t agree where to go to eat!
I read we (the country) have been given permission by a faceless commissioner to help our own steel industry suffering with dumped steel stocks from China.
Both members of this household agree with your comments.
Quote – ‘
French President Francois Hollande said there could be adjustments over Mr Cameron’s demands but EU rules and principles must be respected’
WRONG ! British rules & principles must be respected & must come first in Britain !
We need to keep our independence & be able to choose which laws we take on from over in Europe. British Law is what we should live by, not foreign ones.