Archive for the ‘Chairman »s blog’ Category
mardi, janvier 13th, 2015
Agathe Cayuela as a young BCiP member posted in 2012 a tribute on our website to the Jewish school children murdered in Toulouse and has again been very moved by the massacre at Charlie Hebdo.
« The Unbearable lightness of being »
Life.
That?s the very consequence.
Life, stronger and deeper.
Life beating death.
I?ve seen people gathering from everywhere,
I?ve seen people holding hands,
I?ve seen strangers crying together.
I do believe that the very first vocation of an artist is to make beautiful things.
I want to thank all those who died. Yet to the very end, and long after their death, they will have created beautiful things.
This national movement, this calmness beating despair, this light shining in the dark, is in fact deeply human. It is the movement of humanity.
Now, let us be clear : extremism may not disappear – and shall take away many other people.
But things are different now.
We do have this strength.
And this is huge.
We have the power to give back mankind its dignity – and I believe that it is the real meaning of the slogan « I am Charlie » – yes, we are all Charlie, and as a matter of fact, we have decided to build up the greatest work of art ever.
There is no such thing as destiny or fate.
Every act of compassion makes a difference.
You can make a difference.
From now on, be artists, be the creators of beautiful things.
Agathe Cayuela
« In light of the recent events in Paris, I felt the urge to write about it, just like I did three years ago following the Toulouse shootings of school children in 2012.
The drawing is from me too. »
Tags:Je Suis Ahmed, Je Suis Charlie, Je Suis Juif, Terrorism
Posted in Je Suis Charlie-Agathe, Toulouse Tribute, Welcome | No Comments »
vendredi, janvier 9th, 2015
Here’s a provocative article from Daniel Hannan MEP questioning nine myths about the EU, including securing peace in Europe, World’s largest free trade market, boosts competition, underpins democracy, force for good, necessary for countries to work together, increases prosperity, provides collective clout and high- water mark of federalism.
http://www.conservativehome.com/thecolumnists/2015/01/daniel-hannan-mep-nine-myths-about-the-eu.html
Tags:Daniel hannan, European Union
Posted in Britain in Europe, Broader Vision for EU Reforms, Debate Federal Europe, EU Myths, Federal EU?, Referendum on EU Membership | No Comments »
jeudi, janvier 1st, 2015
The article below by Leala Padmanabhan on the BBC News Politics website, questions whether e-voting is on its way in the UK:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-30234304
« Another argument in favour stems from voter disengagement and low turnout in many democracies around the world, including the UK, where nearly 16 million people did not vote at the last election. E-voting encourages participation, say campaigners, especially among young people.
« There’s a fantastic head of steam now behind this issue, » says Graham Allen, the Labour MP who chairs the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee.
In a report on voter engagement published last month , the committee recommended that the government should run online voting pilots in the next parliament « with a view to all electors having the choice of voting online at the 2020 general election ».
« I couldn’t have got my committee to agree to recommend online voting a year ago but people realise our democracy is broken and we have to find radical ways to fix it, » Mr Allen said. »
With up to three million young people not having decided how to vote in next year’s general election, according to a think tank, the Conservative party as a first step needs to use the internet and social media more effectively.
Posted in Future UK E-Voting, Low Turnouts & Social Media | No Comments »
mercredi, décembre 24th, 2014
Here’s a message from Prime Minister David Cameron:
Who do you know who lives abroad?
Of the 5 million British people living abroad, virtually none are registered to vote – even though it now only takes a few minutes to do so. Encourage your friends to register – « share » this post or send them this link: http://www.overseasvote2015.com/
https://www.facebook.com/DavidCameronOfficial/photos/
a.658575084166813.1073741829.653092548048400/896304423727210/?type=1
Tags:2015 Election, British Expats, British Overseas voters, Voting registration
Posted in Citizenship & Right to Vote, Expat Voter Registration., Low Turnouts & Social Media, Register to Vote!, Voting Message from PM, Voting rights | No Comments »
lundi, décembre 8th, 2014
The Conservative party still needs to project a broader vision of the future of the European Union (EU), if it wants to reform it?
Katharina Klebba writing in LabourList (see article linked to below) thinks:
« A British reform agenda has to be rooted in a wider vision of the role the EU should play in the coming decade. The British public appears at the very least to be sceptical of the idea of an ?ever closer union?.
Yet the realities of monetary union are such that closer integration among the euro countries is almost inevitable ? a development that the UK appears to equally resent.
Therefore, timid proposals on restrictions to the freedom of movement of EU migrants may satisfy some public concerns but they won?t address many of the more fundamental anxieties of the British public regarding the EU.
Currently all three major parties are committed to Britain remaining an EU member if the UK?s demands for reform are met yet the terms of such a membership appear unclear. »
http://labourlist.org/2014/12/if-we-want-to-reform-the-eu-we-need-a-broader-vision-of-its-future/
Tags:British politics, Conservative Party, EU Referendum, EU Reforms
Posted in Broader Vision for EU Reforms, EU Value not just Price, Freedom of Movement in EU, Ken Clark & PM's EU Reforms, Millibands Non-Referendum Pledge, No Effective EU Debate, Referendum on EU Membership, Return to Pragmatism?, Tories & Europe, Welcome | No Comments »
jeudi, novembre 27th, 2014
The intervention below from Ken Clark, complements very nicely the previous article by BCiP member Robin Baker on « Freedom of movement within the EU ».
Speaking at The Guardian on 19th November, 2014 and concerning British Prime Minister David Cameron’s EU reform plans, Ken Clark the former Conservative Chancellor said:
» fellow EU leaders would not agree to change the free movement of people on the grounds that it is a fundamental tenet of the EU and had been championed by Thatcher in the creation of the single market. »
He added:
?The idea that you are going to make Brussels give up freedom of movement of labour ? Margaret Thatcher was an advocate of this. It was a British Conservative government that gave momentum to the single market.
?The Conservative party and the Labour party have been advocates of freedom of movement of goods, services, capital and labour. It is one of the underpinning things of greater prosperity that we are all trying to get back to.?
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/nov/19/ken-clarke-lets-rip-at-david-camerons-eu-reform-plans
Tags:Conservative Party, EU Freedom of Movement, EU Referendum, Eurosceptics, UKIP
Posted in Freedom of Movement in EU, Ken Clark & PM's EU Reforms, Referendum on EU Membership, To Be or Not in EU, Tories & Europe, Welcome, What about UKIP | No Comments »
jeudi, novembre 6th, 2014
The freedom of movement of workers within the Community and the freedom of establishment of nationals of one member state within the territory of another are, as we are frequently reminded, fundamental principles established by the then EEC in 1957 and maintained by the European Union today.
Currently they are increasingly questioned by the Eurosceptic wing of the Conservative Party. To me that means that is has become time to go back and ask why these principles were established.
There are two key reasons. One is the question of individual liberty. Governments should not dictate to citizens where they can go and where they can live and work. The benefit of that hardly needs emphasising to UK members of British Conservatives in Paris; we take advantage of it either just to live or to both live and work here. Many French citizens do the same in Great Britain.
The second is that this liberty is an economic benefit, to individuals and to the economy of Europe as a whole. It permits workers, particularly the most motivated and the most valuable among them, to go where the contribution that they make is most valued and most appreciated. That maximises the economic benefit that they make to Europe as a whole. Many of the French who work in the UK are a good example of this. Their economic contribution is more appreciated in our country because our lower level of bureaucracy enables it to flourish and bear fruit whereas in France it could be stifled by control and regulation. That benefits the French concerned, the UK in general and in time it may benefit France itself if it eventually forces the Government here to reduce their regulatory controls.
What I do not understand is how any Conservative can oppose these principles of individual liberty and the prevention of government imposed rules leading to sub-economic decisions. Both are fundamental to the Conservative Party. In the 1960s and 70s, leaders of the Conservative Party such as Macmillan and Heath understood that. These principles need re-asserting now so that our political leaders can learn to understand them again.
Robin Baker
BCiP Member
Tags:2015 Election, Conservative Party, EU Freedom of Movement, EU Referendum, Eurosceptics
Posted in Beware UKIP Bigotry, Britain in Europe, Cameron & Old Tories, Freedom of Movement in EU, Referendum on EU Membership, Tories & Europe, UKIP/Tory Rhetoric on Immigration | No Comments »
jeudi, octobre 30th, 2014
Will Hutton in The Observer, Sunday 26th October 2014, writes that « Ukip/Tory rhetoric on EU immigration strikes at the very values that make us quintessentially European« .
« The Ukip/Tory story that Britain?s greatness was built on independence from Europe is a fairytale. We are as much part of our continent?s history and evolution, and share its values, as any other European country. Arguably, we are the quintessential Europeans. »
« It is hardly ever said, but the EU, for all its frailties and imperfections, is an important and noble endeavour. It stands for the best of our civilisation and its Enlightenment values, even with its commitment to the free movement of peoples. It now needs friends. Time to stand by it. »
Surely appearing to mirror the rhetoric of UKIP is not the way to attract those key swing voters in the middle political ground who decide general elections? The UKIP talk of emulating countries outside the EU such as Switzerland and Norway does not stand up to scrutiny on immigration. Both as part of their trade agreements with the EU must allow freedom of movement and both have proportionally higher rates of immigration than the UK.
Posted in Beware UKIP Bigotry, Farage to Join Conservatives?, Nigel Farage is just Russell Brand, Similar Arguments: UKIP & SNP, UKIP/Tory Rhetoric on Immigration, What about UKIP, What to do about UKIP? | No Comments »
lundi, octobre 27th, 2014
Read this thought-provoking article for the Conservative Party by Adam Bienkov writing in politics.co.uk:
« History has shown that the Tories can only win a majority by appealing to a broad range of voters across the country. This is how they have won majorities in the past and they abandon that aim at their peril. »
http://www.politics.co.uk/blogs/2014/10/27/the-bigotry-of-ukip-is-swamping-the-conservative-party
Tags:2015 Election, British politics, Conservative Party, UKIP
Posted in Beware UKIP Bigotry, Farage to Join Conservatives?, Nigel Farage is just Russell Brand, Similar Arguments: UKIP & SNP, What about UKIP, What to do about UKIP? | No Comments »
samedi, octobre 18th, 2014
Read this interesting article below published on www.europeanpublicaffairs.eu :
« The outcome of misinformation on the one hand and total resignation of pro-EU advocates on the other has resulted in one thing ? Europeans have learnt the cost but forgot the value of the EU membership. »
Why Holding an EU Referendum May Be a Good Idea After All: Learning the value of the EU not just its price
15 October 2014 | by Frank Markovic
Tags:EU Referendum, Eurosceptics, UKIP
Posted in Britain in Europe, EU Value not just Price, No Effective EU Debate, Referendum on EU Membership, To Be or Not in EU, Tories & Europe, Welcome, What about UKIP | No Comments »