A clearer position?

Cassius

"We'll go into more detail when the time is right" does not bode well. I'm not prepared to support the Cameroons unless they plainly state now their conditions for continued membership of the EU, and then put that to us in the electorate.

Verity

Cassius - Agree. Absolutely. How dare this "party spokesman" patronise the electorate by saying bossily that we will be allowed to know more about Tory policy "when the time is right". Guess what, Mr Party Spokesman, you move your arse; otherwise, when "the time is right" I'll be voting for a different party.

Simon Chapman

Hmm....this might be DH-A freelancing. Remember that Conservative MEP candidates were banned from using the "re-negotiate" word in their literature for the Party's internal selections.

See Conservative Home: http://conservativehome.blogs.com/goldlist/2008/04/the-story-of-ho.html

Max Kaye

The Tories should leave the dithering to Brown. An unambiguous commitment to roll back the UK's role in the federalist 'ever closer union' EU Project would be a definite vote-winner.

David Lindsay

"Sure, they've opposed the Lisbon Treaty, and have been pushing for a referendum on it."

Only the second part of this is true.

Tiberius

The Tory position on Europe is not just about what it can tell the electorate. The obscuring effect of the untruths from a juvenile Labour party have to be factored into any policy statement.

James J

And then there is the limitless amount of Euros that would be available to stop any political party that came out with a commitment to let the electorate decide on membership after a cost benefit analysis was published.

Jessica

Oh for God sake just when the government are doing badly, are getting a kicking from the electorate and the London mayoralty is going to go down to the wire between Conservative and Labour you start trying to cause Cameron problems on europe. It is a given that the tories are eurosceptic but if you start making too much of it and give the impression that its all the party care about it will turn the public off, have you learnt nothing from the grammar school debacle??

Ian C

Jessica - you are right. This is not the time for anything but hints as to a future Tory approach. Who else are sceptics going to vote for, UKIP? Fat lot of good that will do now that there is an emerging alternative (I nearly did last time). We might not like it but the Tories have to play their card intelligently, not show their hand all at once - and the longer they are canny the better their position will be when it matters i.e. at election time.

TGF UKIP

Ian C, Tiberius etc, don't look at what the Tory Leadership says on Europe but what it does. The EPP promise (an essential ingredient of Dave's leadership campaign) welshed on and then buried, the Constitutional Treaty Referendum treated pretty socce voce and never as a visceral claw and tooth issue and last week the gerrymandering of the selection of MEPs by Conservative Central Office (firmly under Cameroon control) to secure the re-selection of europhile sitting members - all Coffee Housers should read Fraser's post on this and the original source material on Conservative Home. That there is little difference between New Labour and New Tories is vividly and painfully painted. The only rational conclusion for Coffee House eurosceptics is - you can't trust Dave on Europe (another reason, though, why the Clarkeist SocDems love him.) BTW Coffee Housers, to save you pointless typing time CENSORSHIP WARNING - remember how a few months back no mention of Richard Branson on any post relating to Northern Rock would be countenanced, well similarly any disparaging or mocking remarks about Andrew Neil, his programme This Week or its principal participants are also verboten, strictly verboten. They know how to keep their jobs do these Speccie hacks!

Parasite

Since when did Heathcoat-Amory speak for the Conservative Party? He's a backbencher.

For everyone getting moist with anti-EU desire, this is just a bit of wishful thinking from a usual suspect. I just hope you don't hold it against Cameron when he doesn't stand by a comment made by an obscure usual suspect.

wonderfulforhisage

When will my fellow old fogies WAKE UP. This is the age of the internet, and globalisation, and sound bites, and lying, and cheating and fiddling expenses.

I'm sorry, harking back to the days when Margaret Thatcher rallied the Country behind her clearly stated principles is a waste of effort and just not modern.

Let's get elected and then Follow the Focus and stay in power for ever.

Ours is not to reason why.....

Fergus Pickering

Heathcote-Amory is not at all obscure. And Churchill was a back-bencher for many years. Frank Field is a back-bencher. Kenneth Ckarke is a back-bencher. Front-benchers are often creeping, snivelling nobodies like...

Random Lurker

It might also be worth remembering that any policy announced by the Conservatives is:
1. Rubbished by Labour for a few days.
2. Adopted by Labour after a week or so but in a slightly scrambled and messed up form.
Silence on details might be both prudent and preferable at this stage.

Jean_Monnet

TGF UKIP - absolutely. Delors is probably more eurosceptic than Dave.

Let's not forget that if it were not for the EU's regionalisation programme (part of the Maastricht Treaty, which the Tories brutally whipped through Parliament), there wouldn't be a London mayoral election. You see, Jessica, it's all about the EU.