http://www.braintreeandwithamlibdems.org.uk/articlearchive.php Recent Press Articles from Braintree and Witham Liberal Democrats en-GB Braintree and Witham Liberal Democrats http://www.braintreeandwithamlibdems.org.uk/ Prater Raines Ltd http://www.praterraines.co.uk/ (c) 2010 Braintree and Witham Liberal Democrats 2010-07-31T18:39+01:00 United Kingdom http://www.braintreeandwithamlibdems.org.uk/articles/000023/the_brussels_office.html Coalition politics brings good news and bad news. For our region, it is good that a second runway at Stansted has been cancelled. It is bad that the cuts considered to be unavoidable by the new government have stalled the A14 improvements scheme around Cambridge, forcing everyone to endure for more years that slow and dangerous road. It is good, in my view, that we are to have a chance in a referendum to decide to move to a fairer voting system for the House of Commons. It is bad, again in my view, that EEDA, our regional development agency, is to be scrapped in favour of patchy, vague and uncoordinated 'local enterprise partnerships'. It is good, of course, that the Lib Dem presence in government has obliged the Tories to drop their visceral anti-Europeanism. 2010-06-30T12:00+01:00 http://www.braintreeandwithamlibdems.org.uk/articles/000022/europe_gripped_by_uk_election.html In Brussels and across Europe there has been a surge of interest in the British general election campaign. People had more or less accepted that David Cameron would form a Conservative government, probably with a large majority, but now the outcome looks far from certain. 2010-05-03T05:00+01:00 http://www.braintreeandwithamlibdems.org.uk/articles/000021/europes_future_foreign_policy_at_risk.html Before Catherine Ashton can become an effective actor on the global stage, the European Union's new foreign policy chief needs to have in place the diplomatic service, ordained by the Lisbon treaty. 2010-03-22T00:00+00:00 http://www.braintreeandwithamlibdems.org.uk/articles/000020/who_is_herman_van_rompuy.html With Europe's economic and monetary union in a spin, it is a good time to ask what the new Lisbon treaty can do to help. In institutional terms, the most relevant innovation is the creation of the post of standing presidency of the European Council and the appointment to it of Herman van Rompuy. 2010-02-23T09:56+00:00 http://www.braintreeandwithamlibdems.org.uk/articles/000019/what_do_meps_want_from_the_new_commissioners.html Like it or not, the European Union cannot work without the European Commission. And it never works well unless the Commission is strong. 2010-01-25T11:25+00:00 http://www.braintreeandwithamlibdems.org.uk/articles/000018/all_eyes_on_triplehatted_ashton.html As the European parliament prepares for January's public hearings on President José Manuel Barroso's second Commission, the chief interest lies in the new post given to the UK's Catherine Ashton. The role is often dubbed 'double-hatted' but as more people begin to read the Lisbon treaty a rather different, and more complex, picture emerges. 2009-12-16T16:05+00:00 http://www.braintreeandwithamlibdems.org.uk/articles/000017/cameron_in_fairyland.html The Lisbon treaty will come into force, at long last, on December 1 after the Czech constitutional court this week abruptly dismissed the third appeal against the treaty by a group of recalcitrant senators. At the same time, Vaclav Klaus, the Czech president, signed the ratification instrument and pronounced the end of Czech sovereignty. He was, as he had hoped to be, the last nationalist standing. 2009-11-20T13:06+00:00 http://www.braintreeandwithamlibdems.org.uk/articles/000016/has_blair_asked_himself_if_this_job_is_really_for_him.html Sir, Conservative opposition to Tony Blair as a future president of the European Council is indeed perceived by many as an act of petty spite rather than political principle ("Europe does not need a big shot", Gideon Rachman, October 27). But Mr Blair has long enjoyed the luck of the devil, and he may yet benefit from having the worst of friends and the best of enemies. 2009-11-12T14:00+00:00 http://www.braintreeandwithamlibdems.org.uk/articles/000015/klaus_cant_sink_the_lisbon_treaty.html Worried about the economic costs of isolation and armed with legal guarantees and an Irish member of the European Commission for all time, Irish voters gave a resounding Yes to the Lisbon treaty on October 2. 2009-10-28T00:00+00:00 http://www.braintreeandwithamlibdems.org.uk/articles/000014/what_an_irish_no_would_mean_for_europe.html On October 2 the people of Ireland will vote for a second time in a referendum to determine the fate of the Lisbon Treaty. Most voters will naturally focus on the consequences of a Yes or No for Ireland. Yet, while Brussels looks on nervously, we might do well to reflect on the repercussions of an Irish No for the European Union as a whole. Here are some of them. 2009-10-09T14:30+01:00 http://www.braintreeandwithamlibdems.org.uk/articles/000011/lisbons_highwire_act_moves_to_germany.html The Treaty of Lisbon continues on its high-wire act. On Wednesday, Germany's Bundestag, or parliament, held a first debate on emergency repairs to the country's long-winded attempt to ratify the European Union's reform treaty. The latest thrill stemmed from a provocative judgment of the German constitutional court, delivered on 30 June, calling for amendments to a law setting out parliamentary responsibilities under Lisbon. 2009-08-26T12:00+01:00 http://www.braintreeandwithamlibdems.org.uk/articles/000010/european_parliament_faces_legislative_test.html Half the members of the European parliament are new to the job. The reasons for such a big turnover need study, but the weakness of party politics at the European level is certainly one of them. Immature political parties cannot offer the prospect of a political career to MEPs. National politics offer greater temptation to those of less than certain European vocation. 2009-07-10T12:00+01:00 http://www.braintreeandwithamlibdems.org.uk/articles/000009/why_europes_parliament_deserves_a_vote_of_confidence.html The last Strasbourg session of this European Parliament ended on May 7. Hectic negotiation between Parliament and the Council of Ministers saw a number of important laws enacted, many at first reading. One or two draft laws did not make it - notably, an important telecoms package which stalled as MEPs insisted on a prior judicial procedure to block internet access, and, secondly, the revision of the controversial working time directive. 2009-05-20T12:00+01:00 http://www.braintreeandwithamlibdems.org.uk/articles/000012/why_britain_needs_the_euro.html Contrary to first impressions, the European Union is coping fairly well with economic and political turmoil. 2009-03-26T12:00+00:00 http://www.braintreeandwithamlibdems.org.uk/articles/000008/andrew_finds_out_how_ukip_are_out_of_touch_with_reality.html For all those who thought that UKIP could be a credible voice in British politics, rather than a ragbag of extremists, xenophobes and conspiracy-theorists, evidence to the contrary has now been provided courtesy of their candidate for the European Parliament, Stuart Agnew. 2009-03-02T16:21+00:00