'Twas a famous victory .....for Dave!

Lyndon B Johnson might have called it ‘not worth a pitcher of warm spit’. Certainly the quasi-deal that Cameron appears to have negotiated with Brussels nomenklatura has not been greeted with even a modicum of enthusiasm. 

 

 

It is not difficult to imagine the ‘negotiations’ being not a gritty struggle by Cameron to get a deal that he can sell to the British voter, but a comfortable chat after a good lunch on the general theme of ‘What can we give Dave to stitch up his proles just like Harold Wilson did the first time around?’

 

The package contains four main ingredients.

 

There will be a four-year partial ban on migrants’ access to benefits. A big yawn for this; the fact is that the public is not particularly bothered. They know that emigrants come here to work, not to claim benefits, and a very small proportion actually does so. There will also be a bit of casting pearls before swine with a partial ban on overseas remittances of child benefit

 

The real problem here is the absurd working tax credit. This has been described by no less than Cameron’s former guru, Steve Hilton,  as ‘economic, political, social, moral madness’. In effect, the Government tops up low pay; it is a subsidy that enables employers to continue to pay below a living wage. Osborne wanted to abolish migrants’ entitlement, but chickened out under a bit of back-bench pressure from MPs who clearly do not have the slightest understanding of WTC or its malign effects.

 

And so to immigration. This is one of the really key issues and the source of a large part of British antagonism towards Brussels.

 

The UK will get new powers to prevent suspected terrorist and criminals coming to the UK, and to prevent ‘sham marriages’. Many people may be surprised that the UK does not have these powers right now; after all, control of your own borders is an essential part of national sovereignty.

 

On that key issue. Brussels concedes that Britain is not committed to ’ever closer union’. As if we ever were! Another ‘concession’ is the  ‘red card’ that will allow the to block unwanted EU legislation. The snag is that this will only kick-in if we have 14 other supports. Fat chance!

 

Then there’s the euro. Brussels will protect the £ by recognising that the EU has more than one currency, and that sterling cannot be used to prop-up the euro. Matters affecting all members will not be capable of discussion by euro members separately. Now, there’s chutzpah for you!

 

That’s about it. The revolution is not coming, so put away your pitchforks.