Who will speak up for Britain’s relationship with Europe? Even those abroad have noticed that the recent talk from the government and pressure groups has all been tinged with Euroscepticism. During David Cameron’s visit to France yesterday, the French foreign minister Laurent Fabius said he was unhappy with this attitude:
‘I find this process quite dangerous … The British population has got used to being repeatedly told: ‘Europe is a bad thing’, and the day they are asked to decide, the risk is that they will say well you told us: ‘Europe is a bad thing’.”
Fabius went on to use a football analogy to describe Britain’s behaviour:
‘One can’t join a football club and decide in the middle of the match we are now going to play rugby’
While Eurosceptic groups such as Business for Britain have managed to make their voices heard, the Europhiles will soon be ramping up their campaign to make the positive case of Britain’s EU relationship. Today’s Times reports that PR man Roland Rudd will join together with former South Thanet MP Laura Sandys to launch a ‘grassroots’ movement which will sell the benefits of Britain’s EU relationship.
Not before time, this group is hoping to launch sometime in June/July, with a focus on making its voice heard towards the autumn. This new organisation, with a name to be confirmed, will be formed out of a combination of the existing pressure groups: British Influence, Business for New Europe and European Movement. But there are already some tensions brewing. The Independent, which broke the story of the new group earlier this week, announced its formation with a quote from Peter Wilding, the director of British Influence:
‘A new organisation will be launched with the support and input of various pro-European organisations. Between us we have developed a diverse network of supporters ranging from businesses to environmental charities as well as thousands of pro-Europeans.’
Based on that, you might think British Influence — which counts Peter Mandelson and Ken Clarke among its backers — as the driving force. But I understand that Roland Rudd’s Business for New Europe is actually the key force and they are not happy at an attempt by Mandelson’s group to hog the limelight.
While Rudd and Mandelson and battle it out for who will be supremo in the pro-EU movement, the Europhiles should remember that time is not on their side. If the rumours of an early referendum next year are true, a new deal would nationally have to be place by November this year. If the Europhiles are planning to wait until the autumn to ramp up their campaign, there is a chance it will be too late. And even if it is 2017, the EU fans will discover the Eurosceptics have planning their campaign for years and will be ready for any scenario.
Comments