So, we finally know the identity of that celebrity threesome. Yesterday David Cameron, Paddy Ashdown and Neil Kinnock manned the phones for the In campaign – a perfect example of the strange bedfellows that politics makes. If any of these gets through to your house, keep them on the line for an hour at least. Bleed them for every penny…
It’s a photo of the establishment doing what the establishment does best: coalescing around a policy and convincing people that it would be sheer madness to oppose it. Even Barack Obama has joined in, offering a "candid" word of warning against Brexit.
Call it government by social convention. To some extent it’s a damning indictment of bourgeois democracy, of the way that those with power and privilege get to define what is politically acceptable and assert an unwritten consensus. A consensus that’s inescapable.
Hence, Jeremy Corbyn – a man who was supposed to be unbiddable – has thrown aside years of Euroscepticism to announce that he’s tepidly for Remain.
The EU referendum is becoming a contest between the Establishment and the people
Tim Stanley
15 April 2016
The Telegraph
Prime Minister David Cameron helps to campaign for a 'Remain' vote in the forthcoming EU referendum at a phone centre in London along with fellow pro EU campaigners, former LibDem leader Lord Ashdown (left) and former Labour leader Lord Kinnock. Credit: Stefan Rousseau /PRESS ASSOCIATION
So, we finally know the identity of that celebrity threesome. Yesterday David Cameron, Paddy Ashdown and Neil Kinnock manned the phones for the In campaign – a perfect example of the strange bedfellows that politics makes. If any of these gets through to your house, keep them on the line for an hour at least. Bleed them for every penny…
It’s a photo of the establishment doing what the establishment does best: coalescing around a policy and convincing people that it would be sheer madness to oppose it. Even Barack Obama has joined in, offering a "candid" word of warning against Brexit.
Call it government by social convention. To some extent it’s a damning indictment of bourgeois democracy, of the way that those with power and privilege get to define what is politically acceptable and assert an unwritten consensus. A consensus that’s inescapable.
Hence, Jeremy Corbyn – a man who was supposed to be unbiddable – has thrown aside years of Euroscepticism to announce that he’s tepidly for Remain.
Why? A number of reasons. To hold his party together. Because, given a choice between protecting the material interests of the workers and pursuing cultural liberalism (internationalism, open borders etc), his instinct is to choose the latter.
But, most of all, Corbyn knows that Euroscepticism is too much of a step towards intellectual liberty from the status quo. Just as he has “parked” his views on scrapping Trident (why? Everybody knew where he stood on nukes when they voted for him) so he must abandon Bennite-style patriotic socialism. The alternative is ridicule, and he’s had enough of that.
There is, however, a surprising consequence to the Remain campaign’s strategy of collecting celebrity endorsements like they were advertising walk-in baths.
They’re creating a campaign of personalities rather than ideas. They’re trying to compel Britain to vote in a particular way rather than persuade them. And stubborn voters might not appreciate that.
Half their effort is “project fear”. The psychological underbelly of saying: “everyone you respect is doing A” is to say: “and they absolutely wouldn’t do B”. None of this is rooted in fact because fear of the unknown relies upon, well, fear of the unknown.
You don’t fear the empty space under the bed: you fear the monster you imagine lurking there. Brexit might undermine security, might kill jobs, might leave Britain utterly isolated on the world stage. It might cause Godzilla to awaken from the depths and reduce London to ashes. It won’t. But it might.
By constantly focusing on negative possibilities, the Remain campaign has neglected to pose any positive likelihoods. What is the purpose of our EU membership? Where is it leading? How will it improve life in the UK?
They are repeating the exact same mistakes of the 2014 campaign against Scottish independence. Not until the last few days of the referendum did No bother to articulate a positive vision of a vaguely federal United Kingdom, an idea floated by Gordon Brown and seized upon in desperation by the establishment.
They nearly lost because all they did was talk Scotland down. They also made the mistake of thinking that a united front – Labour, Tory, Lib Dem etc – would send a message that nationalism was beyond the mainstream of opinion. Instead, many Scots inferred that there was a conspiracy afoot and voted against it.
Happily, this all means that Vote Leave is in a different position. The personalities on board have their strengths, but beyond Boris and Nigel there are no big hitters – no political stars waiting to come on and dazzle us. Once-upon-a-time that would’ve been a weakness.
But in an age when people across the world are voting against elites, it gives the impression that a vote for Leave is a vote against politics-as-usual. And a vote, too, for facts and ideas.
Vote Leave would do well to borrow from the SNP playbook. Yes, wheel out the facts that make Leave attractive by themselves: the social instability of Europe, the pace of migration, the degree to which the EU writes UK laws, the £33.3bn annual cost of EU regulations.
But also make a case for an attractive alternative. This should not be hung on the lazy assertion that “they survive quite well in Switzerland and Norway”. We are not a nation of cuckoo-clock makers and ice fishermen.
The model for the UK’s future is Australia, which trades with pacific countries while controlling migration and trucking no political interference. Canada, which enjoys the benefits of the North American Free Trade Agreement without having its laws vetoed by the US Supreme Court.
Or Japan, which has flourished on the edge of the Asian continent thanks to a trade policy that is entirely about number one. Not that we need be small-minded nationalists here: the Eurosceptic argument should be that opportunities for global trade and development are better exploited outside the EU.
Balance that free trade globalism with the argument that the UK can better look after its own people if their taxes are spent here rather than abroad and you have a powerful case. Note that Vote Leave is making funding for the NHS a centrepiece of its campaign. This is clever. If nothing else, it casts Jeremy Corbyn on the side of David Cameron in a debate over health funding.
The campaign could boil down to tired, compromised elites vs anti-establishment visionaries. It nearly worked for the SNP. It could work for Brexit.
The EU referendum is becoming a contest between the Establishment and the people
Lead EU referendum campaigns named
BBC News
13 April 2016
Vote Leave is backed by London mayor Boris Johnson
Vote Leave and Britain Stronger in Europe have been designated as the official Leave and Remain campaigns in June's EU referendum.
Vote Leave - backed by Boris Johnson and Michael Gove - saw off a challenge from a rival campaign Grassroots Out, backed by UKIP leader Nigel Farage.
The campaigns will be allowed to spend up to £7m, get a free mailshot, TV broadcasts and £600,000 public funds.
The Electoral Commission made the decision after weeks of deliberation.
It is likely to have a major impact on the shape of the debate in the run up to 23 June's referendum.
It means Nigel Farage will not feature on official Leave campaign literature, with Vote Leave insiders fearing the UKIP leader would alienate centre ground voters they believe hold the key to winning. The group wants to make a "positive" case for leaving the EU, with less emphasis on immigration.
Britain Stronger in Europe is likely to continue to focus on the impact of an exit on jobs and economic prosperity.
Former M&S executive chairman Lord Rose is leading Britain Stronger in Europe
Grassroots Out founder, Tory MP Peter Bone, said his campaign would continue, but with a spending limit of £700,000, as he attempted to draw a line under the bitter war of words between his group and Vote Leave.
He added: "We look forward to working closely and productively with all those who want to see the UK set free to determine its own destiny."
A spokesman for Vote Leave said: "Our focus has always been the real campaign and the £350m we send to Brussels every week which we want to spend on our priorities like the NHS. We will continue to work constructively with everyone who wants to campaign for a Leave vote."
Lead EU referendum campaigns named - BBC News
It’s a photo of the establishment doing what the establishment does best: coalescing around a policy and convincing people that it would be sheer madness to oppose it. Even Barack Obama has joined in, offering a "candid" word of warning against Brexit.
Call it government by social convention. To some extent it’s a damning indictment of bourgeois democracy, of the way that those with power and privilege get to define what is politically acceptable and assert an unwritten consensus. A consensus that’s inescapable.
Hence, Jeremy Corbyn – a man who was supposed to be unbiddable – has thrown aside years of Euroscepticism to announce that he’s tepidly for Remain.
The EU referendum is becoming a contest between the Establishment and the people
Tim Stanley
15 April 2016
The Telegraph
Prime Minister David Cameron helps to campaign for a 'Remain' vote in the forthcoming EU referendum at a phone centre in London along with fellow pro EU campaigners, former LibDem leader Lord Ashdown (left) and former Labour leader Lord Kinnock. Credit: Stefan Rousseau /PRESS ASSOCIATION
So, we finally know the identity of that celebrity threesome. Yesterday David Cameron, Paddy Ashdown and Neil Kinnock manned the phones for the In campaign – a perfect example of the strange bedfellows that politics makes. If any of these gets through to your house, keep them on the line for an hour at least. Bleed them for every penny…
It’s a photo of the establishment doing what the establishment does best: coalescing around a policy and convincing people that it would be sheer madness to oppose it. Even Barack Obama has joined in, offering a "candid" word of warning against Brexit.
Call it government by social convention. To some extent it’s a damning indictment of bourgeois democracy, of the way that those with power and privilege get to define what is politically acceptable and assert an unwritten consensus. A consensus that’s inescapable.
Hence, Jeremy Corbyn – a man who was supposed to be unbiddable – has thrown aside years of Euroscepticism to announce that he’s tepidly for Remain.
Why? A number of reasons. To hold his party together. Because, given a choice between protecting the material interests of the workers and pursuing cultural liberalism (internationalism, open borders etc), his instinct is to choose the latter.
But, most of all, Corbyn knows that Euroscepticism is too much of a step towards intellectual liberty from the status quo. Just as he has “parked” his views on scrapping Trident (why? Everybody knew where he stood on nukes when they voted for him) so he must abandon Bennite-style patriotic socialism. The alternative is ridicule, and he’s had enough of that.
There is, however, a surprising consequence to the Remain campaign’s strategy of collecting celebrity endorsements like they were advertising walk-in baths.
They’re creating a campaign of personalities rather than ideas. They’re trying to compel Britain to vote in a particular way rather than persuade them. And stubborn voters might not appreciate that.
Half their effort is “project fear”. The psychological underbelly of saying: “everyone you respect is doing A” is to say: “and they absolutely wouldn’t do B”. None of this is rooted in fact because fear of the unknown relies upon, well, fear of the unknown.
You don’t fear the empty space under the bed: you fear the monster you imagine lurking there. Brexit might undermine security, might kill jobs, might leave Britain utterly isolated on the world stage. It might cause Godzilla to awaken from the depths and reduce London to ashes. It won’t. But it might.
By constantly focusing on negative possibilities, the Remain campaign has neglected to pose any positive likelihoods. What is the purpose of our EU membership? Where is it leading? How will it improve life in the UK?
They are repeating the exact same mistakes of the 2014 campaign against Scottish independence. Not until the last few days of the referendum did No bother to articulate a positive vision of a vaguely federal United Kingdom, an idea floated by Gordon Brown and seized upon in desperation by the establishment.
They nearly lost because all they did was talk Scotland down. They also made the mistake of thinking that a united front – Labour, Tory, Lib Dem etc – would send a message that nationalism was beyond the mainstream of opinion. Instead, many Scots inferred that there was a conspiracy afoot and voted against it.
Happily, this all means that Vote Leave is in a different position. The personalities on board have their strengths, but beyond Boris and Nigel there are no big hitters – no political stars waiting to come on and dazzle us. Once-upon-a-time that would’ve been a weakness.
But in an age when people across the world are voting against elites, it gives the impression that a vote for Leave is a vote against politics-as-usual. And a vote, too, for facts and ideas.
Vote Leave would do well to borrow from the SNP playbook. Yes, wheel out the facts that make Leave attractive by themselves: the social instability of Europe, the pace of migration, the degree to which the EU writes UK laws, the £33.3bn annual cost of EU regulations.
But also make a case for an attractive alternative. This should not be hung on the lazy assertion that “they survive quite well in Switzerland and Norway”. We are not a nation of cuckoo-clock makers and ice fishermen.
The model for the UK’s future is Australia, which trades with pacific countries while controlling migration and trucking no political interference. Canada, which enjoys the benefits of the North American Free Trade Agreement without having its laws vetoed by the US Supreme Court.
Or Japan, which has flourished on the edge of the Asian continent thanks to a trade policy that is entirely about number one. Not that we need be small-minded nationalists here: the Eurosceptic argument should be that opportunities for global trade and development are better exploited outside the EU.
Balance that free trade globalism with the argument that the UK can better look after its own people if their taxes are spent here rather than abroad and you have a powerful case. Note that Vote Leave is making funding for the NHS a centrepiece of its campaign. This is clever. If nothing else, it casts Jeremy Corbyn on the side of David Cameron in a debate over health funding.
The campaign could boil down to tired, compromised elites vs anti-establishment visionaries. It nearly worked for the SNP. It could work for Brexit.
The EU referendum is becoming a contest between the Establishment and the people
Lead EU referendum campaigns named
BBC News
13 April 2016
Vote Leave is backed by London mayor Boris Johnson
Vote Leave and Britain Stronger in Europe have been designated as the official Leave and Remain campaigns in June's EU referendum.
Vote Leave - backed by Boris Johnson and Michael Gove - saw off a challenge from a rival campaign Grassroots Out, backed by UKIP leader Nigel Farage.
The campaigns will be allowed to spend up to £7m, get a free mailshot, TV broadcasts and £600,000 public funds.
The Electoral Commission made the decision after weeks of deliberation.
It is likely to have a major impact on the shape of the debate in the run up to 23 June's referendum.
It means Nigel Farage will not feature on official Leave campaign literature, with Vote Leave insiders fearing the UKIP leader would alienate centre ground voters they believe hold the key to winning. The group wants to make a "positive" case for leaving the EU, with less emphasis on immigration.
Britain Stronger in Europe is likely to continue to focus on the impact of an exit on jobs and economic prosperity.
Former M&S executive chairman Lord Rose is leading Britain Stronger in Europe
Grassroots Out founder, Tory MP Peter Bone, said his campaign would continue, but with a spending limit of £700,000, as he attempted to draw a line under the bitter war of words between his group and Vote Leave.
He added: "We look forward to working closely and productively with all those who want to see the UK set free to determine its own destiny."
A spokesman for Vote Leave said: "Our focus has always been the real campaign and the £350m we send to Brussels every week which we want to spend on our priorities like the NHS. We will continue to work constructively with everyone who wants to campaign for a Leave vote."
Lead EU referendum campaigns named - BBC News