Meet the minister for selling the unsellable
Fraser Nelson warms to Jim Murphy, the Minister for Europe, who is steering the Lisbon Treaty through parliament — and now promises that he would help Blair become EU President
As Europe Minister, I ask, doesn’t he have the worst job in government? He must drive through a treaty which the public do not want, and do not believe is any different to the old constitution on which they were promised a referendum. ‘My job,’ he says, slowly, ‘is to repeatedly try to explain and discuss how it is different in substance and consequence from the old constitution.’ A tough task, I say, given the long list of European leaders saying the two documents are substantially the same.
‘The building blocks of your argument aren’t very strong in that the rest of Europe hasn’t said it’s the same,’ he says. I quote Bertie Ahern and Angela Merkel, but he stops me. ‘There are quotes from every leader in Europe saying the Treaty is different to the constitution. There just are. Sure, we can trade quotes at each other — the Prime Minister of Luxembourg says this, someone in Slovenia says that.’
But what about the House of Commons European scrutiny committee — surely what it says must be taken seriously? ‘Of course, but it said the Treaty is substantially the same for those countries who have not secured the opt-outs which Britain has. We have a unique deal.’ He is technically correct, but the committee went on to say it was ‘not convinced’ that the UK version of the Treaty wasn’t ‘substantially the same’.
Mr Murphy knows the arguments against this Treaty, and knows how to fight them: drag your opponent down into minutiae. I could swear I detected a smile when he used phrases like ‘third pillar’ and ‘Schengen aspects of justice’ as if he was daring me to put them into this piece and see how many readers I would lose.
But surely, I ask, he accepts widespread hostility to the Treaty. For example, he recently explained his case on a video posted on a Labour party website. ‘Ask a question,’ it says — and underneath are comments from the public with questions like ‘Is this legal?’ and ‘How can you look at yourself in the mirror?’ alongside phrases such as ‘mealy-mouth spin’, ‘running scared’, ‘total breach of faith’, ‘blatant lies’ and worse.
He gives a resigned sigh. ‘The first email I received in this job said: “Congratulations on your appointment. I’ve watched the careers of all of your predecessors and I am certain you will die a lonely death and be buried in a traitor’s grave.”’ Was it from Frank Field? I ask. He just laughs. ‘I’m relaxed about personal insults. It’s the way it is. I grew up in a Glasgow housing estate. I can take it.’
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EyeSee
February 14th, 2008 1:15pmAnd there you have it. Not concerned with the truth or outcomes, just how Labour are perceived and will they get re-elected. Lies need to be called lies Fraser, not Labour's view or statistics.
John Bickley
February 15th, 2008 1:44pmI think the number of Polish children at his old school sums up Labour's problem. Europe is working for Europe (particularly Eastern Europe) not Britain. Labour has made it easy for UK citizens to stay on benefits (especially in areas where Labour controls the electoral seat). They're engaged in buying votes rather than reforming the benefits system and until they do that more Poles will come over here to do the jobs that Brits could do if they had no choice but to go out to work.
John, Basingstoke
February 20th, 2008 11:39amA Scot born journalist praising a Scot born politician in charge of steering through Parliament the EU bill to deprive true born Englishmen of their hard fought liberties just highlights how the "Scot Cabal" rule and subjugate us south of the border as I see it. From "Brown the brooding,indecisive manic- depressive the unelected PM" to "Gorbals Mick" a travisity of fairness, balance and fiscal rectitude as the Speaker, to Des Browne, Darling, Murphy, Alexander et.al. the faceless Brown dominated Cabinet and all Scots who wield power through select committees. Your revenge for Cullondon and the Act of Unity is now complete. An England unrecognisable from 20 years ago through mass immigration, heavy taxation, abominable public services, funded by an incompetant administration staffed by career politicans with their snouts in the public purse greedily devouring vast expense claims of the most dubious nature including the Speaker the so-call guardian of Parliament for the people. They has squandered billions of our hard earned monies. How much lower can this system fall before a sysmic change takes place to counter the last disasterous 10 years. So much for me warming to this article and Jim Murphy