What are the Tories saying No to, and are they saying No?

Which way do the Tories Face?
by Brian Mooney

It is true that some local Tories do oppose regional government properly, (such as those whose Councils have severed from the RegionalAssemblies).

However others maintain the Tories' reputation for facing both ways.

1. David Curry MP - embarrassed in Parliament for his speeches (sincethe 2001 election) for regionalism. Michael Howard amazingly appointedhim as the main Tory spokesman on local government!

2. 'Clarkeite' Bob Neill, on the Committee of Regions for London, and listed as a member of the federalist European Peoples' Party. Chairs a COR committee on extending road user charging, even though London Toriesswear they passionately oppose Ken Livingstone's moves, which though badare less drastic.

3. His GLA colleague Eric Ollerenshaw, who gave Ken Livingstone a softride in the face of searching questions at a public meeting last year.Lost his seat in June, but given an even better paid job on the LDA byLivingstone! (What was that about "working with the corrupt system",CS?)

4. Bernard Jenkin may carp on about the cost of the GLA, but there is noTory commitment to abolish it. Mayoral candidate Steve Norris is happyto have taxpayers' money wasted on a "museum of lesbianism" or similarby the GLA. By putting up such a joke candidate that many could not votefor (various reasons), they ensured Livingstone was re-elected to wasteour money.

5. From a Lindsay Jenkins posting:...Speaking in the House, Charles Hendry (MP & shadow minister) said:The Government's concern is that a poor turn-out would deprive the proposed assemblies of their democratic legitimacy. In that they areundoubtedly right, but the solution must therefore lie in ***the nature of the proposed assemblies***, not in the nature of the electoralsystem."Read: "Go on Tony, give them more powers and more appeal"?not "Scrap them" - which I thought was party policy

...I could go on, but will just note that the reason the Tories got anysubstantial vote in the Europarl elections was that they wrappedthemself in the Union Jack and the slogan "Putting Britain First".Although their leader waffles about returning some powers he contradictorily says he's committed to 'Maastricht', which incidentally promotes regionalism.