Silent Majority Speaks

Blair wants to leave his mark on history - looks more like a stain to me.

Peter Thorndyke, Diss, Norfolk - Daily Mail, May 23, 2005

I know I'm me - why do I need an ID card?

"Sorry, officers, I don't have an ID card. I never applied for one. It seemed a bit steep at 300 quid. I do have my free passport, my driving licence and my London freedom travel pass, each with my photograph. I have my NHS medical card, with its lengthy number, given me at birth, my RAF service book with my Armed Forces number, and a chit authorising me to wear a few gongs -including a General Service Medal with Malaya bar, for fighting communist terrorists on behalf of my country, or so they told me.

"I've also got various credit cards and store cards, all with my signature on the back, generally good for buying the everyday requrements for life as well as the odd luxury. If you decide to arrest me, I suppose I'll have to be photographed and given another number, besides my PINs.

"I'm afraid I haven't got a pension book; it was taken away."

"By thieves, sir?"

"No ... well, not exactly. By the Government. By the way, may I see your warrant cards please, gentlemen?"

Oh dear, they've disappeared. E. Harry Gumer, Romford, ESSEX - Daily Mail, June 1, 2005

NO means NO

When does NO mean MAYBE? When it's not the answer the EU wants. With the courageous French NON resounding in their ears, shabby, undemocratic self-interested leaders of Europe propose ignoring the part of their precious constitution that requires ratification by all members and continuing without one of the biggest founder members to prevent derailing the gravy train.

As in Ireland, they refuse to accept any NO votes, ignoring the will of the people, and re-stage votes until they can engineer the 'correct' answer. Sadly, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw dances to their tune like a puppet on a string. With tactics such as these, how can anyone really believe the EU has our interests at heart. Letter from Steve Penny, Kingsnorth, Kent - Daily Mail, June1, 2005

Surely the French result makes the £1million the EU recently spent on a treaty signing ceremony seem a trifle premature and extravagant. Letter from Keith Wiseman, Bury, Lancs. - Daily Mail, June1, 2005

WWW silentmajorityspeaks.com

Britain has traditionally been one of the biggest net contributors to the EU because we do not get as much money back from Brussels in farm and regional subsidies as our rivals.

According to Treasury figures, between 1995-2002, Britain's average contribution taking the rebate into account, was £2.6billion, or £43.55 per head of population.

The French - the biggest recipient of farm subsidies - contributed £1billion a year or £16.08 per head of their population.

Tony Blair should know that respect comes by example - from the top. If a country's leader has no respect for the rule of international law and no respect for the truth, how can he expect anyone to have respect. Letter from P.J.Atkinson, Ashford, Kent - Daily Mail, January 12, 2006

The Chancellor's single greatest act of vandalism in almost nine years in office has been his wanton destruction of Britain's private retirement industry. By slapping a massive tax on pension funds, now worth £7.3billion a year, he has helped to turn the best private retirement industry in Europe into a basket-case in perpetual crisis. Together with the adoption of European accounting rules - which make it much riskier to operate a company pension scheme - hundreds of firms have shut their final salary plans to new employees and slashed benefits to existing staff. From Allister Heath: "I've seen the future and its grey" in THE SPECTATOR - April 15, 2006

Nine years ago the British people were sold a fantasy of clean and competent government of principle and honesty. Its shiny wrappings stripped away, the product now reveals its true nature: Personal greed, arrogance, incompetence, shamelessness, rash warmongering and an inability to accept - as is clear to almost everyone else - that it is time to go. Editorial - The Mail on Sunday, May 28, 2006

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BROWN: We can't suddenly close the door on migrants

By Steve Doughty - Daily Mail, December 17, 2007

Gordon Brown has refused to shut the door on further immigration from Eastern Europe. The Prime Minister admitted 'local pressures' had been caused by the hundreds of thousands who have arrived since their countries joined the European Union, but insisted the economy as a whole had benefited.

In a letter to a senior Labour MP this week Mr Brown said he knew of the drain on resources in many towns, but declined to 'try somehow to row back from free movement within the European Union'.

The decisions came in the wake of the disclosure by the Independent Statistics Commission that as many as four out of five jobs created since Labour came to power had been taken by immigrants. The Prime Minister had been pressed to go to the European Commission in Brussels to ask permission to place curbs on workers from the eight Eastern countries which joined the EU in May 2004.

All existing EU countries - except Britain, Ireland and Sweden - closed their borders to new workers from the East before that date. The Home Office predicted at the time that the UK would attract only 13,000 Eastern European immigrants a year.

Under EU rules, the British Government cannot now close the door without asking Brussels for permission to do so.

Mr Brown revealed his decision in a letter to former Labour Minister Frank Field - the MP who dug out the true figures on the jobs. He wrote: "I agree with you that we may need to do more to recognise the social pressure that it is bringing to bear in communities. Where I am not sure I agree is on whether the best response to this is to try somehow to row back from free movement within the European Union."

Mr Brown said the economy benefited from 'continuous movement and exchange' within Europe. He said there was no evidence that immigration had increased unemployment or depressed wages.

But Mr Field - who was Tony Blair's first welfare reform minister - said last night that research has shown that the numbers of unemployed people leaving the dole for work were lowest in areas where there has been the most Eastern European immigration.

He added: "Immigration from EU countries needs to be capped. The Government must now approach the EU commission to implement a points system."

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