Libertas EU Election Campaign

Libertas launched the UK branch of their EU wide party yesterday in London. It's an interesting academic exercise and nothing more in my view. Declan Ganley launched it by asking how the UK government could adopt the Lisbon Treaty (constitution) immediately after the Irish voted no, the only people given that 'privelege'. To ask that question indicates to me that you don't necessarily have to be bright to make a wedge of cash.

Well Declan, dear chap, that is the nature of the beast that you think can be reformed. You did what you did in Ireland, but the Lisbon Treaty will still be forced upon you one way or another. Even if you get MEPs elected, it will not make one jot of difference. The European Union is undemocratic and parties that think they can change it from within, only end up equally corrupted. Just look around you.

The problem is that MEPs have no power. If 51% of MEPs wanted reform or withdrawal tough, they don't have the power. The EU is the world's worst example, even worse than the United Nations, of a self-perpetuating, power hungry bureaucracy hiding behind a wafer thin facade of democracy. It is beyond help. It needs putting down.

The only thing for those who oppose continued EU membership to do is to boycott the June elections. They are a sham PR exercise and a 0% turnout would have a far bigger impact than electing a few withrawalists or reformers. Only our own Parliament might, one day, be able to get us out of the EU. Wasting time and resources, not to mention credibility, on EU elections is a nonsense. Once they are out of the way the publicity dies, along with another piece of our democracy.

For the first time ever I voted in the EU elections in 2004, seduced by the arguments about publicity for the cause, resources and profiles of MEPs being used to get MPs elected subsequently and so on. Life and politics don't function like that, I was naive and will return to boycotting in June. I hope you do too.