Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

Tony Blair on radio 4

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-27585260

"You look underneath that UKIP facade and you see something pretty nasty and unpleasant," he told BBC Radio 4.

We should have looked underneath your goverment when you were PM , maybe we will discover the truth some day.

We contribute to EU Budget Structrual Funds, these were used in the bailout so we did contribute. Our government said that we wouldn't pay anything additional to these funds. Question is, why are we paying into this anyway?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structural_Funds_and_Cohesion_Fund

Bleep, bleep, Blair on Radio 4 ah...! Waste of air time that man, clue less.

And the spin doctors are already hard at work, since when was UKIP a 'far-right' handed party??? I suppose it makes it easier to class its voters as racists and bigots if the party and its class are defined first....

May 27 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron will launch an assault against "business as usual" at a summit in Brussels on Tuesday, calling on his fellow EU leaders to set clearer and simpler priorities that address the concerns of frustrated voters. After resounding victories for the far-right in Britain, France and Denmark, and a strong performance by populist or Eurosceptic groups in many other EU countries in European elections, Cameron is under pressure to shore up his position at home and deliver on long-promised changes in Europe. In a series of phone calls in recent days, he has spoken to six EU leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and will make further calls on Tuesday, ahead of a post-election summit over dinner. "Fellow leaders have agreed that it is an important moment for the European Council to set out its views on the future of the EU and provide clear direction of what is expected from the next European Commission," Cameron's spokesman said late on Monday in reference to the flurry of phone calls. One of Cameron's immediate objectives is convincing other leaders that Jean-Claude Juncker, the former prime minister of Luxembourg, is not the right kind of person to lead the European Commission, with its sweeping legislative powers. Juncker, a long-time advocate of a more federal Europe, has been chosen by the EU's main centre-right political group, the European People's Party, to be their candidate for Commission President, arguably Brussels' most powerful job. With the EPP having won the most votes in the European elections, clinching 213 seats in the 751-seat European Parliament, Juncker is in pole position to secure the post, a point he firmly underlined on Monday. ID:nL6N0OC2BH But Cameron has concerns that Juncker, prime minister of Luxembourg for 19 years and at the heart of European politics for decades, is too much in the mode of old-school federalists rather than someone dynamic to lead change, EU officials say. NO COMMISSION NAMES While Cameron has been relatively outspoken about his reservations, he is not alone, with some northern and east European leaders sharing his concerns, the officials say. Tuesday's summit will not include any detailed discussion of specific candidates for the presidency, with leaders instead talking broadly about the characteristics and skills they think they need in the institution for the coming years. With the EU having to tackle big questions about the pace of its own integration, how to balance the relationship between the 18 countries that share the euro and the 10 that are outside the currency union and issues of geopolitics and energy security, appointing the right Commission president is critical. Under the Lisbon Treaty, leaders are responsible for nominating a candidate "taking into account" the elections to the European Parliament. Whoever they nominate must then be approved by a simple majority in parliament. Juncker has only just started consultations to see what sort of support he can garner in parliament, and EU leaders are not going to jump into a nomination, so the process is likely to unfold slowly over the coming weeks or months. But Tuesday's summit - the first opportunity for all 28 leaders to assess the political shifts caused by the elections - will be important in establishing where allegiances lie. "It will be too early to decide about names," European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, who chairs summits of EU leaders, made clear in a letter sent to them last week. "We will talk about the process leading to the European Council proposing a candidate for the future presidency of the Commission... and how to organise our work over the coming weeks." While Cameron may have deep reservations about Juncker, he and others may not be able to block him in the end. According to EU rules, the nominee must be approved by a 'qualified majority' in the European Council. What that means in practice is that if Germany, France and most other member states supported a candidate, Britain would struggle to block it. He would need to rally countries representing 38 percent of the EU's total population - that's 190 million people - which could prove a very tall order. At the same time, Germany and others may not want to push Cameron to the edge. With Britain's relationship with the EU in turmoil and Cameron having promised a referendum on continuing EU membership before the end of 2017, leaders such as Merkel are keen to do what they can to convince Cameron to stay in the club.

interesting times in brussels which just MAY play into DC's hands

if brussels now insists upon and appoints this known federalist, then it is likely to push DC towards a referendum supporting "out", which neither germany nor france want at all - eu is in a pretty fragile state already

if they get this chap blocked, then it will be a significant victory, albeit that is just the starting line

Shortie,

Does that mean his "opinions" are different to yours.

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cynic 25 May 2014 13:44 - 41396 of 41460

lib/dems are no different from the other two parties - no obvious leaders or even creditworthy NCOs


Cynic,

When Theresa May is elected leader of the con party, can you imagine coming down to breakfast in the morning and seeing her sitting at the other side of the table.

-----

The thought made me shiver.

==========

I was asked by someone while in France, "where have all the football hooligans and rioters of the 70s and 80s gone"?

At first I didn't know and then realised they had all matured and joined UKIP.

===============

GF.

Good to be back.

The Dordogne was as beautiful as ever, relaxed and not as anti-EU as one may interpret from the election results.

======

I offered them Cameron and Farage, but many replied, "they would prefer to drink bad wine than accept them".

=====

But can you imagine a country managed by two barrow boy spivs Cameron and Farage in a coalition ?

With one out of "touch" and out of his mind due to the effects of Coke and the other in a similar state due to ethanol.

Ah, so you want Millibandus eh Fred...really?

Cynic, Germany might not want an out vote yet but I believe France is rather coming round to the idea following the National Front victory there.

Lets be honest, when the council next meets they will all pledge growth, emloyment and stand there holding hands like nothings changed for a photo.

ah yes; i'd forgotten about NF in france
but of course NF will have it's own problems as if it just wants "out regardless" like ukip, then it will probably find itself marooned, though i confess i'm unsure how these internal "cliques" work in eu set-up

You say 'out regardless' like we have a choice in membership. The EU isn't like the AA whereby you can pick the level of cover required for the year. If it were I'm sure it'd function far better..!

Prime Minister David Cameron, whose Conservative party lost seven seats, said it was clear voters were "deeply disillusioned" with Europe and that the message was "received and understood".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-27579235

You gotta laugh, us voters are "deeply disillusioned" with Europe, I'd put it to Mr Cameron and his party that they were in fact the ones "deeply disillusioned"...

that remains to be seen
if DC can get no proper concessions, then for sure any referendum will vote "out"

"can't get concessions"?
you don't know until you try and there is a good likelihood there'll be quite a lot offered either willingly or through duress
EM and his wet chums certainly couldn't get anything, but then of course labour is uninterested in even trying

Tony Blair has taken a swipe at UKIP, saying beneath the facade lurks something "pretty nasty and unpleasant".

could say similar and worse about blair

For me I just don't see any positives in being in the EU in the first place. I see only cost to being in the EU, they say trade and agriculture benefits the most but I really don't see how. Our farmers I think would be better off out of the EU and as for trade Sterling strength is by far the biggest driver.

i want to listen hard to the arguments from both sides and assuredly don't wish to be bulldozed into getting out by the likes of ukip or staying in by labour

I'm not 100% lets get out either, if there is a valid reason to be in the EU then I'm all ears. It makes you wonder what the real if any Pro's are though, so far I've yet to come accross any that aren't easily disputed or in reality are just not relevant to me and my life!

generally we just hear the headline stuff
certainly we don't hear of any will to change the "cosy clique" in brussels, but i hope that is about to change

Well Cameron seams to be publicly showing that he's listing to voters and demonstrating he's in touch with concerns. A PR stunt maybe, but all the same it'll earn him trust points as long as there is an end result and it doesn't fizzle out.

Milliband s reaction yesterday was the people dont like whats going on in the country with this government he completely missed the point even when asked again ,typical arrogant Labour .

EM is DC's secret weapon :-)