Some constituents have written to me to complain about the BBC’s wish to limit free TV licences to only those over 75 who are on a low income. This is clearly out of the spirit of the agreement with the government which gave the BBC the right to levy a higher tax to finance itself as long as it paid for free TV licences for the over 75s.

I am taking this matter up with both the BBC and the government. I think the government should apply more pressure to the BBC to honour the pledge made.

The EU is busy trying to fill its senior positions without success yet.  They meet again on June 30th to try to reach agreement over who should be President of the Commission.

The EU Council  last week   revealed  its new ambitions to take more  control from member states.

The EU wants member states to press ahead more rapidly with plans to decarbonise.  Countries are being pressed to lower their CO2 output, to increase their renewable generation of power and raise their fuel efficiency. 2030 targets are being set, but the EU has still not agreed on a zero carbon target for 2050 which some wish to do.

The EU is keen to weed out fake news from social media. It will be interesting to see what they regard as fake news, and to see if they start to cross the line between unacceptable material and censorship of material that is inconvenient to the EU. It is setting out a new “framework for targeted restraint measures” which will include asking social media platforms to prevent material harmful to the EU.

The Euro area needs to consider how much further it should go with a joint  budget and whether it will start to borrow money in  the name of the EU to spend around the union. The Euro area meeting talked of intensifying the banking union  and capital markets union. There is also a wish to have more common taxation under a policy  that it should be “fair and effective”.

The EU wishes to take greater responsibility for its own security and defence, pointing the way to more common defence spending.

The EU wants to become more assertive in international affairs. It wants Russia to release the captured sailors from Ukraine and release the vessels, seeks free maritime passage there and wants Russia to reduce her influence in eastern Ukraine. The EU continued its sanctions against Russia. The EU also condemned Turkey for her alleged  illegal drilling in  the Eastern Med.

The EU is planning a tougher migration policy “to fight illegal migration and human trafficking and to ensure effective returns”. The detail on who they will make go back will  be interesting, and what their enforcement mechanisms will be.  They want to renegotiate the Dublin Regulation which requires a member state to offer safe haven to  a migrant if that state is their first place of arrival in the EU. The southern  coastal states resent this obligation on them.

We await the new Commission and new Parliament. The old one goes out with a set of conclusions that aspire to much more integration but lack real bite in achieving their full stated aims. Nonetheless the process of integration continues, with the EU using its position in international affairs and  negotiator of international treaties and commitments to gain more control over member states policies in everything from defence to energy and from economics to media.

Bring it on. There was no need to wait three years. The Withdrawal Agreement was an elaborate snare to try to stop us leaving.

“We don’t believe you”  thunder the people as the EU tells them that their international rules based system is right for people’s lifestyles and aspirations.  Populist movements around the EU are voting into office new parties that challenge the EU orthodoxy on austerity, the Euro, climate change, international relations, migration, control of the media and much else. Today there is a row over who should lead the EU as President of the Commission, given the very fractured party base within the new European Parliament.

There is a feeling amongst many voters that the EU does not advance living standards quickly enough. Its insistence on austerity economics through the Maastricht controls coupled with the statement there is no alternative produces the reply “We don’t believe you”

Its failure to control its external borders is allied to a foreign policy that supported Middle Eastern wars that displaced more people. The Dublin Agreement is breaking down, where the original member state offering asylum or a place for an economic migrant is meant to be responsible for housing and looking after them. The issue of migration reveals a growing gap between what the elite think and what the populists want.

The EU dislikes the social media which carries growing criticism of its policies as well as fake news and cyber attacks. The populists are suspicious of the extent to which the EU wants to regulate and control the media, and are scornful of any traditional media who just accept EU spin.

This gulf is not unique to the EU. Similar feelings in the USA led to the defeat of Mrs Clinton and to victory of Trumpism. The UK avoided the collapse of the major parties experienced on the continent in the 2017 General election, thanks to their joint support for Brexit which saved Conservative and Labour.When these parties delayed or deviated from Brexit they collapsed in  the European election. In Brazil there has been a populist tide as well.

In the EU it is remarkable how most of the great centre left and centre right parties of the twentieth century have allowed themselves to  be wiped out or blown away by new challengers owing to their rigid adherence to the EU and Euro policy mix. French politics is now a contest  between En Marche and National Rally, with the Republicans and Socialists also rans. In Italy Lega and Cinque Stelle dominate. Even in Germany, the one big winner from the Euro and EU policy, the SPD and CDU command less than half the vote between them these days.

What has led to this huge destruction?  The collapse of living standards at the end of the last decade and the slow growth since has not helped. The mass migrations were unpopular, brought on by backing Middle Eastern wars which displaced many people from their homes. The insistence on the Maastricht criteria and the austerity policies of tax rises and spending cuts have jarred over such a long time period. Ask Gilet Jaune protesters what they want and they will probably say tax cuts. The concentration on dear energy and restrictions on personal mobility to tackle global warming have also caused issues with the populists, visible in the Gilets Jaunes attack on speed cameras and demand for cheaper vehicle fuel.

Throughout the continent many voters disagree with the priorities of European government as well as with its policies.

John Redwood “ We dont believe you” book available through Amazon

I attended the Wokingham Choral Society concert on Saturday evening. They sang “Songs of travel” which included the first performance of the revised “Didcot Haiku” by Paul Burke. The composer attended and received a good round of applause for his composition.  9 Vaughan Williams songs concluded the programme, following a spirited duet  on  the piano of the Ride of the Valkyries.  James Morley P0tter, Conductor, joined the accompanist Benedict Lewis-Smith for this item.

The choir sang well, tackling the complex chords and soaring with the bird flights, sunrises and dreams described in  the poems. I am grateful to the Society for their invitation top what was a most enjoyable evening.