Where are the Euro-enthusiasts now?

'Lord Mandelson, Nick Clegg, Lord Heseltine, Paddy Ashdown and Ken Clarke have all gone incredibly quiet on the subject of the single currency.'

However people of that ilk don't apologise for being so, so, so wrong in the past, they just move on to the next way of achieving their ends.

Iain Martin in The Mail explains...

'Surely, it was one of the greatest escapes in Britain’s history.

If we had been foolish enough to go into the European single currency we would be in an even more dire economic situation than we are now.

The euro’s lower interest rates would have made money even cheaper and easier to borrow during the boom, making the recession deeper when the bubble burst and more difficult to get out of.

You won’t hear any of this from those in the political establishment who cravenly backed Tony Blair when he was madly trying to abolish the pound.'

Read the whole article for an explanation as to how EU rules have been bent to allow the bailouts but above all remember this:

'We are on the hook in other ways, too, unfortunately. The most disgraceful last act of the Labour government was to sign us up to take part in the financial rescues for Ireland and Portugal.'

Yes as with so much that is wrong with this country, it is the last Labour government's fault and they should be both blamed and held to account.

As for the people named at the top of this piece, shouldn't they be asked about their previous (and for all we know current) Euro enthusiasm and whether they admit they were wrong? And whilst we are the on the subject, shouldn't just one interviewer ask Peter Mandelson where his loyalties lie bearing in mind that EU pensions are, I believe, paid on the understanding that the EU can remove this pension, if in the view of the Commission or the Luxembourg Court, they "fail to uphold the interests of the European Communities".

The cuddly face of the UK left

The Guardian's Comment Is Free have a piece entitled

'Why Michael Heseltine has returned
City-loving, leftie-bashing Michael Heseltine is just the man Cameron needs in the critical year ahead'

And the first comment posted is:

'VoxAC30 29 December 2010 9:05PM
Oh God, isn't he dead yet?'

And yet the Tories are the 'nasty party'!

Question Time - 24 September 2009 (update)

Unfortunately I could not watch this live last night, well past my midweek bedtime so this is as-live from iPlayer...

Fraser Nelson is editor of the "right wing" Spectator; are journalists like Kevin McGuire or any from the New Statesman or Guardian described as "left wing" or even "Left of centre"? Where is the centre in the BBC mind?

1st question is on the Obama snub and linking to al-Megrahi.
Why is it that when Harriet Harman speaks I get so irritated, it's an incessant whine of righteous indignation with scarcely a pause for breath. Fraser Nelson asks the questions that David Dimbleby should ask but Harriet Harman ignore them.
Lord Heseltine who has a great understanding of how things work seemed to put his finger on the al-Megrahi release factors and on the fiction of the "special relationship".
David Laws speaks sense on the reality of Libya.
Fraser Nelson again asks Harriet Harman the question about releasing al-Megrahi, David Dimbleby re-asks it, the audience demands an answer but Harriet Harman plays the UK government minister cannot comment card. Michael Heseltine points out the stupidity of that line but Harriet Harman sticks to her line despite having it pointed out that Ed Balls had done so. Michael Heseltine calls it a Labour split.

2nd question is on whether Baroness Scotland should lose her job
David Laws remind everyone of Harriet Harman's attempts to exempt MPs from FOI legislation and says yes she should go.
Lord Digby Jones agrees and spots the disconnect between the governed and the governers.
Harriet Harman tries to justify her colleague staying in post as it was just a "mistake", "no financial gain", "administrative error". "Lawmaker can be lawbreakers"? from DD?
Michael Heseltine has known Baroness Scotland for a long time but points out that she is the architect of this law, good point, and he is right that she should have gone for the purposes of accountability.
Fraser Nelson brings up the disconnect point.
Angry lady in audience and Harriet Harman shows she doesn't even know the fines for the crime, you might have thought she would have done a bit more research.

3rd question on whether Nick Clegg's conference speech has furthered Lib Dems prospects
Lord Heseltine lays into the "mansion tax" and points out that £1 million is not the cost of a mansion in London but a normal house.
David Laws makes a totally fatuous point about only paying only if over £1 million. But does then attack Lord Heseltine for the Council Tax.
Lord Digby Jones supports the taking out of tax of the low paid, quite right too; isn't that part of IDS's policy?
Harriet Harman despite being reminded of the question.
Fraser Nelson shows his speed of thought by replying to David Dimbleby's calling him "Nelson" by calling him "Dimbleby". DD takes it quite well.

4th question is on the closure of the Jungle camp and reducing illegal immigration into the UK
Question about what is being done about illegal immigrants already in the question and daring to mention the BNP. Harriet Harman evades the question and attacks the questioner for quoting the BNP favourably. Harriet Harman gets very indignant and refuses to have "any truck with the BNP" and so avoids answering what the government is doing about illegal immigrants already in the country.
Fraser Nelson makes the point that I made the other day.
Another question from the audience about the benefits given to immigrants.
Lord Heseltine points out the lack of effective border controls that exists and that the people are mostly economic migrants, much to the upset of David Laws who gets on his Lib Dem high horse.
Digby Jones knows what the French are up to in Calais area and he is right.

Question 5 the "funny one"
Or not...

Question Time tonight - 24 September 2009

Panellists tonight are:
Harriet Harman (Labour Cabinet Minister and potential candidate in any Labour leadership election)
Lord Heseltine (ex Conservative Minister and Euro-enthusiast, usually invited onto BBC programmes when mischief over "Tory splits" over Europe are required to take the attention off of the collapsing economy, Gordon Brown's latest PR disaster and/or the latest ministerial scandal/resignations)
David Laws (Lib Dem MP for Yeovil)
Lord Digby Jones (Ex Director of the CBI and one of Gordon Brown's GOATs. He was the man who said of his brief time in government that it was "one of the most dehumanising and depersonalising experiences" anyone could have, and that he had been amazed by how many civil servants he thought deserved the sack)
Fraser Nelson (Editor of the Spectator and one of the few journalists with the balls to ask Gordon Brown a difficult question and push the point)

When the Question Time panel has two right of centre politicians (if Michael Heseltine is indeed right of centre) then there is always a reason. Watch Harriet Harman and her occasional puppetDavid Dimbleby try and expose "Tory splits" so as to take the attention off of Labour's problems.

I wonder how the Question Time audience will be made up tonight...

Here's Fraser Nelson asking the difficult question and Gordon Brown answering a different question.



And here's Harriet Harman controlling David Dimbleby...