UK political parties: the Tory Party’s European problem

Deep divisions within the Conservative Party gave them troubles for years, but more recently the party has become a much more cohesive eurosceptic unit and the issue seemed to have dropped off the agenda. Not any more.

From the BBC website today, comes this report:

“A senior Conservative MP has called on Prime Minister David Cameron to hold a referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union. Mark Pritchard, the secretary of the 1922 committee of Tory backbenchers, said it had “enslaved” the country.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, he said EU membership was a “burdensome yoke, disfiguring Britain’s independence”.

His comments come amid growing frustration among Tory eurosceptics at the failure so far of the government to repatriate powers from Europe in the face of opposition from their Liberal Democrat coalition partners.

Last week 120 Conservative backbenchers gathered at a private meeting in Westminster to voice their impatience at the lack of progress on the issue.”

What is the government’s position?

“Ministers have ruled out any imminent renegotiation of European treaties.”

But as the website goes on to say:

“Last year the government introduced a “referendum lock”, guaranteeing that no further major transfer of powers from London to Brussels could happen without first being approved by the public.

Mr Cameron, who describes himself as a “practical eurosceptic”, has said he could push for a renegotiation of existing EU rules on employment and financial regulation at an appropriate time in the future.”

Below Europe as an issue within the context of Tory intra party divisions.

The main divides in the current Conservative Party
Factions within the Conservative Party include the following

• The ‘Conservative Way Forward’ is a group dedicated to carry forward the philosophy of Margaret Thatcher. This means it is dedicated to promoting a free market approach, the reduction of personal and business taxation, a Eurosceptic approach to the EU and a reduction in the scope of the welfare state to prevent the spread of a ‘dependency culture.

• In addition to the above group there is a faction of extremely right wing conservatives who are Thatcherite in their approach and are also very nationalistic. This means they oppose further immigration and take a hard line on asylum seekers and possibly support complete withdrawal from the EU. They also oppose proposals for constitutional reforms.

• The ‘Tory Reform Group’ represents the more liberal wing of the party which also claims to have a ‘one nation’ approach to conservatism. They believe the party should pursue policies of social justice, equality of opportunity and an attack on poverty. This group argues that the state can be justified in intervening to maintain economic stability and in redistributing some income from rich to poor. The group is less Eurosceptic and is a supporter of the maintenance of the Welfare State. The group support multiculturalism and a generally tolerant society.

• In between the two stand the centre of the party, largely supporters of the Cameron agenda. They are socially liberal, but are also committed to free market policies, arguing that taxes should be reduced when this become feasible. They are cautious about European integration, but not totally opposed to the adoption of the euro in the future. They take a dual approach to law and order, arguing for an authoritarian approach to more serious crime, but a liberal approach to youth offending. The centre group of conservatives also accept the need for democratic renewal in Britain and would reform Parliament to make government more accountable. The centrists surrounding Cameron also stress the need for stronger environmental protection.