Thread: Ed Miliband
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Old 08-10-2011, 09:16   #77
Wynonie Harris
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Re: Ed Miliband

Hmmmm...you seem very confident in your prediction of an EU referendum outcome, Graham. Maybe I should consult you for my scores in the Stanley prediction league!

Although I would agree that the sight of Nigel Farage (who always seems like some sort of variety club comedian to me) or, even worse, Nick Griffin arguing the anti-EU case would put much of the ordinary public off, I think in some ways you have misjudged the mood of the British electorate.

Firstly, they have the case of the stricken Euro unfolding before their eyes. When it was first mooted that we should join the Euro, large parts of the establishment including golden boy, Tony Blair threw their weight behind the pro camp and the antis were dismissed as loonies and fanatics. As the public have seen, the loonies were proved right.

Secondly, I think you may underestimate the dangerously cynical state of mind of the British electorate at the moment. Cameron, Clegg and Miliband would support the pro-EU lobby? So what? No one likes Cameron, Clegg is dismissed with contempt and Miliband has certainly not inspired the public at large. People are more disillusioned with mainstream political parties than I've ever known in my lifetime and any pro-EU arguments they put forward will be regarded with the utmost scepticism.

Then you say business and industry would have pro-EU views. Again, so what? There is an equally resentful attitude to the movers and shakers of big business and finance who, rightly or wrongly, are blamed for helping to get us into this mess in the first place through a combination of greed and ineptitude. The lingering suspicion will be, the EU might be good for them, but is it so good for us ordinary folk?

Don't forget that this anti-EU mood can only grow with unfolding events. A prime example is the threat of the remote mandarins in Brussels to sue this country because we won't start paying a full range of benefits to EU immigrants who simply arrive in the UK, having made no contribution to the country whatsoever. You don't have to be a xenophobe, a little Englander or part of the "send 'em all back" brigade to see that this is outrageously unfair on the ordinary, hardworking people of this country, including immigrants who have come here in the past and worked diligently to build a life for themselves.

Finally, Graham, it would appear that those at the top in all mainstream political parties don't share your confidence. That's why they'll go through all sorts of contortions to avoid giving us that referendum!
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