EU Regional Cockwaffle

Just in case anyone's interested in seeing what the EU gets up to with our cash, ie endless committees, talking shops and smoke-screens to cover up the centralisation of government in Brussels.

So here's a link to The Committee of the Regions, whose purpose is quite clearly stated at the beginning of their Mission Statment:

We are a political assembly of holders of a regional or local electoral mandate serving the cause of European integration. Through our political legitimacy, we provide institutional representation for all the European Union's territorial areas, regions, cities and municipalities.

NB European integration, the EU's territorial areas, etc.

More follows:

We want to see Europe, united in diversity in a globalised world, make the very most of its territorial, cultural and linguistic diversity, as this is the source of its strength and guarantee of its people's identity. We play our part in promoting European democracy and citizenship and their values, and contribute towards the anchoring of fundamental rights and the protection of minorities.

This is typical egregious EU cockwaffle.

This deceitful piece of political spin omits the unpleasant but vital fact that Europe's diversity is national, rather than regional. There is no such thing as a European identity.

Noteworthy that the word nation does not feature once.

After poking around on the site I clicked on 'Useful regional Links' to check out who's riding the government gravy train in my neck of the woods. These days it happens to be Phil Hope, who's now Regional Minister for the East Midlands.

Most people living in the East Midlands area probably don't think it's more than a notional thing, let alone that there's a government department for it. Indeed, most people who live in Lincoln will probably have been unaware that their sitting MP, Gillian Merron, was Regional Minister for ten years.

This is just another scheme for implementing EU policy, destroying the traditional structure of local government in the UK. It won't be long before district and county councils will have disappeared. I've never heard anyone identify themselves as coming from 'the East Midlands' or any other region, for that matter.

All of this is pushed forward under the innocuous-sounding cockwaffle of which Phil is a practitioner:

"I am delighted to have been appointed Minister of the East Midlands. As Regional Minister I hope to provide you as a region with a strong voice to champion your needs and interests in Parliament and across Whitehall.

"The East Midlands is a region with much to offer and a region that I am proud to represent. Apart from being home to some of the UK's best known businesses, we can also boast some of the most innovative scientists and most creative artists. Our towns and cities have many individual strengths and wonderful qualities, and together as a region we are in a unique and powerful position to continue to prosper and face the challenges that lie ahead

"As your Regional Minister, an important part of my role is to facilitate a joined up approach across government departments and agencies to enable the effective delivery of our single regional strategy and achieve the best for the East Midlands. Through partnership working we can make sure that we are in a strong position to face the social, economic and environmental challenges that lie ahead, and continue to stay competitive. I am ambitious for what we can achieve together.

"I hope you find this site useful. Over the coming months I will continue to use it as a way to keep you in touch with my work as your Regional Minister."

Hand me a revolver.

She May Be Nice But She Votes Like A Clone

Gillian Merron is Labour MP for Lincoln. Unlike many MPs she's very active doing what she can for the people she represents.

However, she is typical of the contemporary Labour MP. In other words she's a clone, doing the government's bidding without question.

So, although she campaigns to keep local Post Offices open (despite the fact that her own government's eagerness to embrace EU diktat is a primary cause of their closing) she nevertheless does as she's told in voting for anti-democratic measures that destroy our liberties. These are the things that matter. Unfortunately these are the things that large numbers of voters know nothing about.

The following, from TheyWorkForYou:

How Gillian Merron voted on key issues since 2001:

* Voted very strongly against a transparent Parliament
* Voted moderately for introducing a smoking ban
* Voted strongly for introducing ID cards
* Voted very strongly for introducing foundation hospitals
* Voted strongly for introducing student top-up fees
* Voted very strongly for Labour's anti-terrorism laws
* Voted very strongly for the Iraq war
* Voted very strongly against an investigation into the Iraq war
* Voted very strongly for replacing Trident
* Voted very strongly for the hunting ban
* Voted moderately for equal gay rights
* Voted a mixture of for and against laws to stop climate change

She's all for compelling every inhabitant of Lincoln to have an unnecessary, intrusive and expensive ID card, with all the database surveillance and threats of fines that go with it; she's all for taking us into an unwanted, unnecessary and illegal war and stopping us having an enquiry into it; she's all against allowing us, the voters and taxpayers, access to the doings of the government, who happily make decisions for us about things we have not been asked about, and who spend our money on things we are regularly misinformed about.

She's also for the further privatisation of the Health Service and for driving our young people deeper into debt when they want to better themselves by going to university. She's for having your number plate photographed on every journey you make by main road, for the 3,000 new ways we can all become criminals, for a semi-official snoop force (Community Safety Accreditation) of bouncers and jobsworths who can fine us on the spot for minor misdemeanours, for ContactPoint, a database that will record private details of EVERY child up to the age of 18, including information on family lifestyle and behaviour of neighbours, etc, etc.

And, from 1997, when she was elected, until just recently she was Minister for the East Midlands. This is another imposition by the EU (I've already talked about it) - an unelected layer of administration set eventually to replace our existing system of local government, all driven by our friends in Brussels. I bet she didn't mention that very often to the ordinary folk she encountered as Minister.

A glance at her CV also reveals a career typical of today's political class:

Educated

* Lancaster University, BSc (Hons) Management Sciences (1978-81)
* Wanstead High School

Career (from her own website):

* UNISON, Senior Regional Officer for Lincolnshire (1995-97)
* East Midlands Full Time Official, National Union of Public Employees (NUPE) – and UNISON (1987-95)
* Local Government Officer (1985-87)
* Business Development Advisor (1982-85)

University, a couple of years in something that might be called a real job (but I doubt anything called 'Advisor' is real), local government and union (a favourite breeding ground for politicos) and finally fully-fledged apparatchik.

Having a background in what we outside the Westminster Village laughingly call the real world doesn't necessarily mean an MP is grounded enough to retain any common sense they may have been born with (the ludicrous figure of Prescott, for example, blunders into view) but it would occasionally be reassuring to think our representatives had some notion of what it's like not to be privileged, powerful and well-paid.

When you're well-paid, privileged and powerful it's easy to vote happily for a police state - for other people. But it is unforgivable.