Bill Cash breaks cover

Bill Cash writes to the Financial Times (our italics)

... The Conservative party as a whole last week voted to support my backbench amendment to the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill, expressly to override the European Communities Act 1972 by providing the legislative means to deregulate European burdens on British business and make this binding on the British judiciary. The bill has now gone to the House of Lords.

The Labour government refused to accept this amendment, although the worst burdens on business come from European legislation. Where countries such as Germany refuse to legislate unilaterally to repeal European legislation (when negotiations fail), their companies will simply continue to invest abroad to avoid the costs of the social agenda.

This, as you report, will be through their foreign subsidiaries and high unemployment at home will continue.

The German Christian Democrats would do well to emulate the British Conservative vote last week. Unfortunately, by locking themselves into a coalition with the Social Democrats and pursuing the policies of the European People's party the CDU demonstrates its refusal to override EU burdens on business with damaging consequences for German, European and global trade.

Since it seems to be Conservative policy not to mention Europe, we are not sure what Mr Cash means by his odd choice of phrase "The Conservative party as a whole". But he also criticises the EPP, so maybe that mitigates his offence.

Did "the Conservative party as a whole" realise the implications of his proposal to override the European Communities Act 1972? We suspect not. But if they did...? Now there's a thought.