Give the ‘swivel-eyed loons’ some glasses
Jonathan Lindsell, 20 May 2013
The Tory party is in a perfect storm. A top Conservative, or indeed Cameron himself, allegedly called grassroots supporters ‘mad, swivel-eyed loons’. Swivel they might, given the civil-war splitting the party over today’s same-sex marriage bill and an amendment to extend civil partnerships to heteronormative couples, just as it opens marriage to homosexuals. Their crazy eyes might swerve back to last week, with grandees and cabinet members undermining Cameron’s EU position.
There is a chance, though, that Tory grassroots (and non-politicians in general) are not rabid. The ocular manoeuvring detected at Number 10 was not proof of rabid insanity. It was a nation rolling its eyes.
Who can blame them? On the dragging Eurosaga, both sides have succumbed to such extreme hyperbole and figure-massaging that the average voter feels one of two things: overwhelmed or offended. Former Conservative MP Matthew Paris fell into the former category last week, where he wrote (£) of the need for useful, impartial information regarding such a huge issue.
Readers of today’s Independent, I suspect, will fall into the latter category. The paper features an article on the benefits of Europe and an open letter from business leaders including Richard Branson (Virgin), Martin Sorrell (WPP) , City and energy bigwigs and their ringleader: PR guru Roland Rudd.
This letter treats the reader like a child. There is no reference to sources, which is bizarre given the outlandish claim that EU membership is worth £92 billion per year. They value membership at ‘between £1,200 to £3,500’ per household per year. Similar numbers, based on government guesswork, have been debunked here, here and here. The Ruddites, however, appear to have inflated the already-incorrect figures by £100-200 per household per year with no explanation. They certainly don’t mention whether their figures are net or gross – do they consider the EU’s massive costs?
The letter follows error with outright misdirection. They threaten that an EU withdrawal will forfeit free trade with the USA, yet no FTA has been negotiated, nor is one remotely likely. They mention the potential benefits of a Single Services Market, ignoring the fact that this would contradict Cameron’s own negotiation principles.
To roll your eyes in the face of such blatant figure-massaging seems a reasonable response. If the business and political elite really think the nation is getting ‘loony’ about Europe, it is the responsibility of both sides to dispense with their barefaced manipulation and present the facts. Then we can don our glasses and see the EU for ourselves.
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