Airstrip One

Official: Tories obtain sympathetic media

The European elections, to be held in June, are the next opportunity for the British electorate to tender its verdict on the record of the government. The Tory party has decided to raise the issue of the proposed European Constitution to see if this will mobilise voters or provide them with an additional tranche of support. It has formed a centrepiece of their Welsh conference this week. Jonathan Evans, Tory leader in the European Parliament, gave a strong comparison between Blair's dissembling and the welcome of the continentals:

“Our principled opposition stands in stark contrast to the inept approach of this Labour government. Be in no doubt, this constitution represents a fundamental change in the relationship between our country and the European Union.

“The German government has called it ’worthy of the word historic’. The French government has called it ’the setting up of a new political age’.

The Spanish government, ’a legal revolution without precedent’. The Belgian government, ’the capstone of a federal state’.

“And the Labour government says ’it’s just a tidying up exercise’.”

As the Guardian's recent press survey showed, there is almost no support for a parliamentary vote on the Constitution in the media. The Tories are making the running on this issue and the Liberal Democrats have been muzzled by their pro-Europeanism.

(22.31, 4th April 2004)