Business bosses say 'No' to EU Constitution

http://www.conservatives.com/tile.do?def=news.story.page&obj_id=119531 ^

[oursouls]

Business bosses say 'No' to EU Constitution

Michael Ancram has welcomed the results of a new survey showing that most of Britain's business bosses remain highly sceptical about the EU Constitution signed up to by Tony Blair.

After an NOP poll carried out for the Institute of Directors found that 49 per cent of company chiefs intend to reject the constitution, with only 29 per cent prepared to sign up, the Deputy Conservative Leader declared: "This is another serious blow to Mr Blair's determination to railroad the British people to accept the European Constitution and give the EU yet more control over our lives."

Speaking on the eve of a Commons debate on the legislation paving the way for UK adoption of the EU constitutional treaty, Mr Ancram added: "Businesses and business leaders know that the Constitution will lead to more of the red tape from Brussels that is destroying the basis of Britain's international competitiveness."

He told conservatives.com: "There is a clear choice for the country: more power and red tape for Brussels under Tony Blair and the Labour Party or powers brought back from Brussels to Britain with Michael Howard and the Conservatives."

IoD Director General Miles Templeman said of the survey findings: "The Government faces a major challenge if it is to convince businesses they would be better off with an EU Constitution."

Meanwhile, an attempt by Foreign Secretary Jack Straw to undermine the Conservative campaign against ratification of the EU constitutional treaty was wrecked when one of his own senior Labour MPs accused the Government of seeking to trick the country into backing the move.

After the Foreign Secretary staged a special press conference to attack Michael Howard's stand on the issue, veteran Labour MP Austin Mitchell said ministers were "trying to pull a fast one" by smuggling details of the proposed constitution through the Westminster Parliament "in an incomprehensible Bill supposedly about a referendum".

He warned: "This legislative confidence trick is unworthy of a government which should listen to the views of Parliament and people and allow full and free debate before any referendum or surrender of parliamentary sovereignty or British laws and freedoms. You cannot win wholehearted consent by confidence tricks, half truths and by closing down debate."

Meanwhile responding to Mr Straw's comments, Mr Ancram, said: "The Foreign Secretary's intemperate attack on our policy shows how rattled Labour is over Europe. They know that their own European policy has been a comprehensive failure. They were against an EU Constitution, but now they've signed up to it. They were against giving the EU control over asylum, but they've broken that pledge. They said an EU foreign minister would be 'unacceptable,' but the Constitution provides for one.

[bill1952]

The question from me is why Blair and many English want to be part of such a thing, rather than ally more closely with the US.

After all, when I hear EU, I hear "french" or "Belgian."

Is that how they think of themselves? Englishman = frenchman?

After all, the EU has a long way to go before we truly look upon them as outright enemies, but they are going full speed towards becoming a curse word here.

[MonroeDNA]

The blogosphere is lagging over there.

Think of us, 7 years ago, under the toonmeister. Grinding our teeth daily.

It will catch up, hopefully.

[bill1952]

Hopefully.

But I still do not understand the English thinking on this, and I have had many clients from England.

They split the difference in political spectrums.