The American Spectator

Today’s Telegraph has a superb editorial on Tony Blair’s sellout of the British rebate to the EU and France. Without any gains against the French agricultural subsidy, Blair gave up most of the Thatcher-negotiated rebate that now amounts to about 10 billion pounds annually. As the Telegraph points out, Blair’s internationalism has never been based on Britain’s interests. Here’s the money quote:

“Make no mistake: the sums of money involved are immense - £7 billion, the amount Mr Blair has handed away, is roughly the entire police budget for England and Wales. At the last election, Mr Blair claimed Tory plans for a £4 billion tax reduction would mean savage cuts in public services. Never again will he be able to level such an accusation…From now on, every time they are asked where they would find the money for tax cuts, the Tories can reasonably reply: from Brussels.”

Will the new Tory leader, David Cameron, have the courage to oppose Blair directly on his giveaway? If he doesn’t, he’ll go the way of the last several Tory leaders. If Britain’s conservatives want to resume acting like conservatives instead of Labor-lite, this is the best place to start.