A Prospect We Believe

Ed Balls starts out ritually compliant, of course. But imagine the uproar if a Conservative Cabinet Minister said any of that which follows, and especially if he said any of the things that I have highlighted:

As I argued four years ago, we should extend the period of time that people from new member states have to wait before being able to come to the United Kingdom to look for work.

We will work to stop the payment of benefits to those not resident in this country, consult on changing the rules on deporting someone who receives a custodial sentence shortly after arriving in the UK, and have called on the government to double the time that an EU migrant has to wait before being able to claim the basic jobseeker’s allowance.

We have called for national parliaments to have a greater role in EU decision-making by being able to ‘red card’ any new EU legislation before it comes into force [in other words, no EU law to come into force without the approval of a resolution of the House of Commons – blimey, beat that]; for serious reform of the European commission.

We led the calls for a cut in the EU budget and reform of the common agricultural policy and have urged a zero-based review of spending on EU agencies to help ensure that any overlap, duplication or waste is addressed and tackled.

As Douglas Alexander has said, Labour does not support a drive towards an ‘ever-closer union’. We would hold an in-out referendum if there was a further transfer of powers – a prospect we believe is possible, but unlikely in the next parliament.

Not much reading between the lines needed there; that last echoes and reiterates Ed Miliband's clearest commitment to no further transfer of powers by any Leader of either main party since Michael Foot.