Sunburn, boats, coral reefs - it's beach time in the Philippines, surrounded by a mix of other nationalities - Philippinos, Saudis, Belgian, French Canadian, German, Australian, French, Swiss, South African and Brits. It was my 53rd birthday yesterday.
As they sang last night at the Yacht Club Bar -
Freeze A Jolly Good Cello.........enough.
A political thought managed to penetrate the relaxed atmosphere, after reading Dan Hannan on CH. (pictured above with Roger Helmer at the London Referendum Rally)
It is noticeable reading Roger Helmer in his monthly newsletter, and
Daniel Hannan on CH yesterday that they are playing an interesting strategy.
With the EPP, they continued praising and supporting David Cameron, even after his apparent climbdown on the original promise, and kept repeating and trusting his promise of eventual withdrawal, when others were openly expressing doubts and disappointment that the promise would be or had been abandonned.
No one can have been more disappointed than them than the two MEP H's, but they kept their own doubts buttoned up, and never once publicly doubted Cameron's commitment to his promise, leaving it to others others express their fury and disappointment when the promise was delayed.
Cameron is now after many doubts, sticking to the withdrawal from the EPP policy. It will just have taken an extra four years to get delivery on the promise than he suggested at the time of the leadership election in 2005. The Helmer/Hannan strategy of loyalty to Cameron seems to be paying off.
Now they appear to be doing the same on the 'cast-iron' (always more brittle than it sounds) Referendum Promise from Cameron on 26th September, published in The Sun...that any powers being transferred as a result of these (Constitution) negotiations would be subject to a referendum if he were to win power.
Hague again has gone some way to watering down the promise, just as he did over the EPP. Hannan and Helmer are again, carrying on as if nothing, just applauding Cameron and repeating his promise as if the watering down was not happening, just as Helmer especially did over the EPP.
I guess they saw their strategy work in the end as regards the EPP, and I imagine they hope to achieve the same with the latest Cameron EU promise, which appears to be similarly threatened.
Cameron met Merkel recently, and while insisting that the Conservatives would indeed be quitting the EPP, he promised her that, as a result, we would make better neighbours than tenants.
I wonder if a similar phrase will be used by Cameron again in the negotiations about the Constitution, subsequent to its ratification, and to a Conservative General Election victory.
Helmer and Hannan seem to think he will.
Ignoring the watering down of the promise might again prove to be their best and most effective strategy.
To read Roger's monthly e-mail newsletter, which I recommend, you can order it at
[email protected]
UPDATE - A biproduct of the 'loyalty' strategy is that the
BBC have to fabricate some disloyalty, which reconfirms them as liars, and in the wrong on this issue.
UPDATE.
One MP notes that the first UK referendum on the EU was subsequent to the Treaty being ratified by Parliament.
Sunburn, boats, coral reefs - it's beach time in the Philippines, surrounded by a mix of other nationalities - Philippinos, Saudis, Belgian, French Canadian, German, Australian, French, Swiss, South African and Brits. It was my 53rd birthday yesterday.
As they sang last night at the Yacht Club Bar -
Freeze A Jolly Good Cello.........enough.
A political thought managed to penetrate the relaxed atmosphere, after reading Dan Hannan on CH. (pictured above with Roger Helmer at the London Referendum Rally)
It is noticeable reading Roger Helmer in his monthly newsletter, and Daniel Hannan on CH yesterday that they are playing an interesting strategy.
With the EPP, they continued praising and supporting David Cameron, even after his apparent climbdown on the original promise, and kept repeating and trusting his promise of eventual withdrawal, when others were openly expressing doubts and disappointment that the promise would be or had been abandonned.
No one can have been more disappointed than them than the two MEP H's, but they kept their own doubts buttoned up, and never once publicly doubted Cameron's commitment to his promise, leaving it to others others express their fury and disappointment when the promise was delayed.
Cameron is now after many doubts, sticking to the withdrawal from the EPP policy. It will just have taken an extra four years to get delivery on the promise than he suggested at the time of the leadership election in 2005. The Helmer/Hannan strategy of loyalty to Cameron seems to be paying off.
Now they appear to be doing the same on the 'cast-iron' (always more brittle than it sounds) Referendum Promise from Cameron on 26th September, published in The Sun...that any powers being transferred as a result of these (Constitution) negotiations would be subject to a referendum if he were to win power.
Hague again has gone some way to watering down the promise, just as he did over the EPP. Hannan and Helmer are again, carrying on as if nothing, just applauding Cameron and repeating his promise as if the watering down was not happening, just as Helmer especially did over the EPP.
I guess they saw their strategy work in the end as regards the EPP, and I imagine they hope to achieve the same with the latest Cameron EU promise, which appears to be similarly threatened.
Cameron met Merkel recently, and while insisting that the Conservatives would indeed be quitting the EPP, he promised her that, as a result, we would make better neighbours than tenants.
I wonder if a similar phrase will be used by Cameron again in the negotiations about the Constitution, subsequent to its ratification, and to a Conservative General Election victory.
Helmer and Hannan seem to think he will.
Ignoring the watering down of the promise might again prove to be their best and most effective strategy.
To read Roger's monthly e-mail newsletter, which I recommend, you can order it at
[email protected]
UPDATE - A biproduct of the 'loyalty' strategy is that the BBC have to fabricate some disloyalty, which reconfirms them as liars, and in the wrong on this issue.
UPDATE. One MP notes that the first UK referendum on the EU was subsequent to the Treaty being ratified by Parliament.
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