Thought for the day. June 29th. The common ground is where the party needs to position itself. By Peter Bone MP

While the musical chairs on the Titanic are in full swing, the Government ship appears to be sinking. By the time Prime Minister Brown has finished his reshuffle, the Government is going to look weaker than before. It would seem his appointments have more to do with back-room deals than what is in the interest of the Country.

By the way, do you remember Brown’s promise to strengthen Parliament? So what is one of his first actions as Premier? To replace Jack Straw who was regarded as an excellent Leader of the House of Commons and was trying to strengthen the powers of Parliament against the Executive with Harriet Harman.

  

Strengthening parliament …

    

 with Harriet Harman?

 Now Ms Harman now known as ‘Three-Hats-Harman’ has to split her time between the highly partisan jobs of being Labour Party Chairman and Deputy Leader and that of being a strong and independent representative of the interests of the House of Commons. These are irreconcilable and show Brown’s total contempt for Parliament.

Everybody seems to be repeating the mantra ‘we must be on the centre ground otherwise we’re doomed’, so I thought I’d better look it up in the dictionary but there is no dictionary entry for centre ground. It is one of those phrases that has no meaning or substance.

Thatcher – The Common Ground

Margaret Thatcher had it right when she said the Conservative Party must occupy the common ground. This is what the Conservative Party needs to strive for. The common ground is what most people beleive on any particular issue. It doesn’t matter whether its on the left or right of the political agenda.

Now the dictionary will tell you that common ground is a set of shared beliefs and interest; a foundation for mutual understanding.

So the fight against global warming which might be on the left of the political spectrum is on the common ground because most people support it. Similarly, pulling power back from the European Union and re-establishing sovereignty is on the right but is clearly on the common ground because a large proportion of the British people believe in it.

 Re-establishing British sovereignty – a common aim of the British people

Using this barometer I thought it might be interesting to list where the Party should be if it is to capture the common ground. I suggest the common ground requires:

A strong stance against uncontrolled immigration

A very tough line against criminals

Support for our brave men and women of the armed forces

Freedom for our doctors and nurses to use their own clinical judgement

Education that drives up standards rather than levels down

Support for local democracy rather than state control

Lower taxation both locally and centrally

A smaller state with more personal responsibility

The common ground should be the cornerstone of Conservative policy. Listening to the People and delivering what they want.

Peter Bone is MP for Wellingborough

Special Report – Charles Walker MP dissects the BNP

“The BNP support base will be eroded if the three main political parties start addressing the public’s growing concerns about increasing levels of immigration and the impact that this is having on the allocation of public resources and structure of existing communities. In tackling these concerns, politicians must not be drawn into “bidding” for the BNP vote. We must trust that reasoned arguments supported by demonstrable action to restore confidence in the system will persuade the “soft” 80% of the BNP vote to return to the mainstream while reluctantly accepting that the “hardcore” 20% is beyond the reach of decent and principled political parties. 

 “Ultimately, Nick Griffin and his friends will fail because the British public will never be able to square the BNP’s hateful and destructive rhetoric with its professed desire to serve an electorate which on almost every count is despises; a massive and insurmountable contradiction.”

To read the full report click here.