Brussels and Westminster both fail to offer the public direct democracy January 24, 2013 DAVID Cameron’s promised referendum on Europe will be the first in my lifetime, which began the year after the 1975 vote to remain in the Common Market. So to me the Prime Minister’s new commitment for a vote feels like both a victory and a defeat. It is a historic decision: after more than four [...]
Incentive to work will be dampened by pension reform January 24, 2013 THE coalition received bad news this week, as figures revealed the UK added £15.4bn to its debt pile in December 2012 – up from £14.8bn in the same month in 2011. The chancellor will now be forced to ask ministers to prepare further cuts for 2014-15. But the problem is not just fiscal. It’s political. [...]
The Debate: After Apple reported disappointing profits and sales, is it doomed to relative decline? January 24, 2013 YES Julian Birkinshaw Apple’s latest results were spectacularly good by any standard – except their own. The company has been hyped up so far, and for so long, that failing to meet expectations was almost inevitable. But the real problem for Apple is that now the top has been called, the markets are looking to [...]
Letters to the editor January 24, 2013 No renegotiation [Re: Cameron’s decision to call a referendum is absolutely right, yesterday] There is no guarantee of any referendum, even in the event that David Cameron is re-elected. Francois Hollande is adamant that powers stay at EU level, and he is backed by legal precedent. EU institutions, like the European Council, are also legally bound [...]
Conservative unity on Europe will break open deep Labour fractures January 23, 2013 DAVID Cameron’s Europe speech united the Conservative party. But it also created two enormous challenges: one for Cameron himself and one for Ed Miliband. In 2009, with the Lisbon Treaty ratified, Cameron and William Hague decided it would be absurd to have a retrospective referendum. They announced a new policy, including a sovereignty bill, a [...]
European Union anxieties don’t demolish the case for a level playing field January 23, 2013 WE’RE doing the Euro hokey cokey: in, out, in out, shake it all about. We were out, we’re now in, we might be out again, but in the meantime we are certainly shaking it about. Indeed, the reaction from other governments is that the UK is shaking things up far too much. Like everyone under [...]
One-size-fits-all isn’t the route to rigorous A-Levels January 23, 2013 THE announcement by Michael Gove that the government is planning to reform A-Levels in England will be broadly welcomed. Many syllabuses and exams are completely inadequate. They do not provide the preparation for university that the brightest students deserve, and are justifiably criticised by employers for lack of rigour. It’s also right for the government [...]
Will other EU countries block any attempt by the UK to renegotiate its membership? January 23, 2013 YES John Springford David Cameron seems to have made it his mission to frustrate other EU countries. This means his plea for renegotiation will be (largely) rebuffed. What has Cameron done to upset the others? First, he took the Conservatives out of the centre-right group in the European Parliament. Then he threatened to veto the Eurozone’s [...]
Letters to the editor January 23, 2013 EU negotiation [Re: Cameron’s EU balancing act makes treaty renegotiation unavoidable, yesterday] This article overwhelms with its lack of ambition. It argues that EU partners will let us reform the terms of our membership, but only if we stick to those reforms they already agree with. What of the membership requirements they want to keep or [...]
Cameron’s EU balancing act makes treaty renegotiation unavoidable January 22, 2013 IT’S months later than planned, but David Cameron will finally deliver his much-anticipated speech on Europe today. We first expected him to speak last autumn. Then an unfortunate clash with the anniversary of the Élysée Treaty prompted a rethink. And crisis in Algeria forced another postponement. But Cameron’s “speech to end all Europe speeches” is [...]