November 7, 2010
by Nosemonkey
54 Comments
As many of you know, I spend far too much of my (increasingly limited) spare time arguing with eurosceptics on the internet. Some are professional eurosceptics (recent discussions have included ones with Declan Ganley, founder of anti-Lisbon Treaty party Libertas, … Continue reading
July 1, 2010
by Nosemonkey
4 Comments
As regular readers of this blog will know, my single biggest worry about the Conservative party taking office in the UK was the prospect of arch-eurosceptic William Hague taking over the Foreign Office (the man who, as leader of the … Continue reading
May 11, 2010
by Nosemonkey
9 Comments
OK, I was wrong – Prime Minister Cameron it is. I just hope I’m also wrong in my dread of our new Foreign Secretary, William Hague – the most strongly eurosceptic person ever to hold that position, the mastermind behind … Continue reading
May 9, 2010
by Nosemonkey
14 Comments
In the unusual Buckingham constituency*, UKIP’s Nigel Farage – advocating withdrawal from the EU – ended up in third place, despite a high-profile (non-fatal) election-day plane crash**. The amusing news for pro-EU types? Farage was beaten into second place by … Continue reading
May 8, 2010
by Nosemonkey
25 Comments
Just back from Japan, from where I was closely following the UK election on Twitter (your best place for my day-to-day political commentary these days, though be warned they’re usually more jokey – and sweary – than here…) After 30 … Continue reading
April 7, 2010
by Nosemonkey
39 Comments
Just a quick note for future reference, as most people who blame the EU for “uncontrollable” immigration (*ahem* UKIP *ahem*) tend not to know what they’re talking about – but also tend not to believe anything you say unless it’s … Continue reading
April 3, 2010
by Nosemonkey
12 Comments
If you want to understand Britain’s rather odd relationship with the EU, you could do far worse than read this really rather good overview in this week’s Economist, especially considering its focus on the Conservative party – likely to form … Continue reading
November 27, 2009
by Nosemonkey
17 Comments
UKIP, love them or hate them, have been fairly consistent in one thing over the years – arguing against the EU because it is run by unelected bureaucrats. Just one of their arguments, perhaps – but the democratic deficit claim … Continue reading
November 4, 2009
by Nosemonkey
54 Comments
So runs the argument of increasingly prominent anti-EU Tory, Daniel Hannan MEP – still advocating a UK referendum despite the final ratification of the Lisbon Treaty. This is, of course, very true. Since the 1975 referendum on EEC membership, the … Continue reading
November 2, 2009
by Nosemonkey
5 Comments
A guest post from that rare beast, an openly pro-EU Tory – in this case Thomas Byrne of the blog Byrne Tofferings, who is keen to sound out the thoughts of a more international audience to his suggestion for the … Continue reading
October 25, 2009
by Nosemonkey
19 Comments
The proposed President of the European Council is very far from being “President of Europe” – either in terms of profile or power. Whoever lands the job (and it’s highly unlikely to be Tony Blair) will have practically zero influence … Continue reading
August 22, 2009
by Nosemonkey
1 Comment
Following my recent posts on national vs European identity and regionalism and the EU (as part of a vague attempt to get an idea of the nature and importance of geographical/cultural identity), this may be of interest – Why the … Continue reading
August 17, 2009
by Nosemonkey
44 Comments
In the comments to my National identity vs European identity post, where I’ve been arguing that it’s perfectly possibly to have a sense of belonging to multiple different groups, and thus to have multiple different identities, commenter WG notes: I … Continue reading
August 14, 2009
by Nosemonkey
20 Comments
There’s a big row going on about President Obama’s proposed healthcare reforms in the US at the moment. It’s US politics, so holds little interest for me. But then the Republicans – taking hyperbole and wilful disinformation to whole new … Continue reading