Letters From A Tory Daily views on British politics and the Conservative Party from a centre-right thinker who writes letters on his blog to politicians, journalists and many others.

Dear Andrew Gimson,

You have caught the flavour of the moment very well in your article for The Telegraph.  Gordon Brown’s inability to answer questions at the Dispatch Box is now legendary, as he constantly ‘refers’ his way out of tricky situation, but is simply not able to escape the promise made by Tony Blair that we will have a referendum on the EU.

As with ‘the General Election that never was’ fiasco, Gordon Brown knows he is going to lose the referendum.  To claim that he decided not to hold a General Election that he knew he was going to win was ridiculous enough, but to evade the question of whether or not he thinks he can win a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty shows that he is doomed.  I agree that Nick Clegg has also paid a high price for his inability to make his mind up.  I read in the Independent today that he said the numerous resignations in the Lib Dems were “amicable” and they would unite and “move on” – sounds a bit Blairite to me and is clearly a stark admission of failure as party leader.  Let us not forget that in 2003 he wrote in the Guardian that “nothing will do more damage to the pro-European movement than giving room to the suspicion that we have something to hide, that we do not have the ‘cojones’ to carry our argument to the people” and now he decides not to support a referendum.

You are right to highlight William Hague’s impressive parliamentary skills in amongst this terrible abuse of democracy.  He pinned down Gordon Brown and Nick Clegg, while the Conservative Party were united in their calls for a referendum – which gave them the moral high ground.  The Conservatives would do well to remember the other parties’ vulnerability on this issue.

Yours sincerely,

A.Tory