Peter Burke
Chair
Oxford For Europe
2 December 2023
(To search the website or to comment on this piece please see foot of page)
Chair’s blog
Follow My Blog
Get new content delivered directly to your inbox.
An eventful month ends with a notable non-event
In an effort to hide from his failures the Prime Minister spent this week arguing about an ancient relic that only a tiny minority of the British people have an interest in. Mr Speaker, that’s enough about the Tory party
Sir Keir Starmer at PMQs 29 Nov 2023
So it is December and, we hope, the festive season. ‘Movember’ is over: up and down the country men are shaving off their moustaches or growing back their beards. November has been a month to remember, and news has been prolific. I will mention only in passing the long overdue return of Suella Braverman to the backbenches, the political exhumation of David, now Lord, Cameron, the continuing rise in net migration to almost 3/4 of a million, and the pre-election flavoured autumn statement from the Chancellor.
A confected row?
Instead I wanted to comment on how the month ended, on a sour note, and with an event at once trivial and also highly symptomatic of a much broader malaise at the heart of government. The Prime Minister’s decision this week to cancel at the last minute the long-planned meeting with his Greek opposite number, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, is virtually unprecedented in international diplomacy, and, whatever its reasons, is a sign of weakness not of strength. The allegation was that Mr Mitsotakis had raised the issue of the Elgin Marbles Parthenon sculptures *, having promised that he would not, and so it was feared that they would overshadow anything else in the planned meeting. The truth is that in his interview on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Mr Mitsotakis, entirely in response to a question from her, reiterated long established Greek policy on the subject, and he could certainly not have done otherwise, at least not without horrifying his voters at home.
What Sunak apparently failed to appreciate was the opportunity cost of his actions. He was due to have the chance to discuss potentially significant issues such as migration, climate change, Gaza and the Ukraine war with a fellow leader who can expect to be in office for quite a few years, having only recently won a general election. Furthermore Mitsotakis was somebody of his own political hue who up to now would have been seen as a natural ally. Instead he blew it and caused reputational damage to himself, as well as offence to the Greek people, by extension to Mr Mitsotakis’s fellow EU leaders, and indeed to the leaders of other NATO countries. He presented Starmer with the opportunity to be the adult in the room, and to accuse Sunak at PMQ’s of having (to stay with the Greek theme) a ‘Reverse Midas touch’, turning all he touches into something for which James Cleverly would undoubtedly have a word **. Indeed Starmer reported having had a perfectly amicable meeting with Mitsotakis, despite taking a similar line on the marbles as Sunak would have done.
On top of that, he has put the marbles back on the agenda, which can only gain public sympathy for the Greek cause and bring forward the stones’ return to Athens.
It sounds very much as if what Sunak was trying to do was throw red meat to the unreconstructed ‘Spartans’ in his party, many of whom neither know nor care about the statues. If so he now knows the attempt has backfired. He has succeeded in uniting those from his own party and others, regardless of their views about the right place for the marbles, in seeing him as thin skinned, flaky, Quixotic and ill advised. Some Tories, like Geoffrey Clifton Brown and William Hague, will come out and say it, others will just think it.
Common sense needed
This may of itself appear trivial in comparison to what is going on in the world just now, but it is part of a pattern. Remember Sunak’s fawning and uncritical ‘interview’ with Elon Musk? Remember his self-inflicted humiliation at the Tory party conference? Suella Braverman on her departure spoke of his ‘magical thinking’ and even a stopped clock is right twice a day. Never before has a prime minister needed the help of a ‘minister for common sense’ more. But that that post is now held by Esther McVey and she will need to learn a bit of common sense herself before she can offer her boss any.
And all of this is happening against the backdrop of the Covid Inquiry. This may make riveting television, but it must also be profoundly triggering for those who have suffered loss during the pandemic. And it is infuriating for anybody who cares about how responsibly – or not - the country is run. So far we have had the undignified spectacle of a queue of politicians, civil servants and spads revealing the chaos and the ‘toxic culture’ (in Hancock’s own words) which prevailed in Downing Street, and in most cases implicating themselves in the cover-up which surrounded it. Many of them tried to shift the blame and throw verbal grenades at each other.
On one thing they seem to have been united, namely that the then Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, was uniquely lacking in care, probity and competence. This is a man whom the Tories, despite knowing his track record, elected to high office. That fact in itself is bound to be a lasting stain on the party, and no amount of vacuous rhetoric about integrity, professionalism and accountability can wash that away. Especially when not backed up by deeds. All this even before Johnson and ‘Dr Death’ Sunak are called to give evidence. The ripples created by the inquiry are set to continue for years to come. If Sunak was ever tempted to call an early election in the hope of taking advantage of Labour’s current difficulties over Gaza, then he needs to look around him.
A tragedy that leaves no-one untouched
And it is difficult to get away from the tragic events in Israel and Gaza, especially now as the suspension of hostilities has come, for the moment, to an end. The Middle East will never be the same again following the appalling attacks of 7 October and what came after. We in Oxford for Europe come from many different backgrounds and may take many different views on what is going on. Some of us and our families would be personally affected. It was moving to hear and read the reflections of two prominent members of the Oxford for Europe community who have a very deep personal perspective. Layla Moran MP still has family members trapped in Gaza, one of whom has recently died. She has spoken with feeling about this several times in Parliament as well as on the media, including on LBC’s The Newsagents and on Question Time this week. And secondly, Ruvi Ziegler, who has family in Israel, and has shared his thoughts. It is so important to remember that the pain of innocent civilians is pain whichever side of the border they are on, and to paraphrase the late Jo Cox, they have more in common than that which divides them. This has been the theme of vigils held in Oxford and elsewhere to remember those who have suffered. I do not want to gloss over this important matter and will return to it in more detail.
About us
Moving on to our own activities, there were two AGMs in November. The European Movement UK, to which we are affiliated, had its meeting in Manchester, and elected more or less the same core group as before. The new membership of the National Council was announced, and as before Oxford for Europe is represented. One of the highlights of the event was a talk from Prof John Curtice, albeit via remote link, in which he provided us with some food for thought by reiterating his evidence, previously articulated to UK in a Changing Europe, that Labour might well - contrary to their current policy - benefit electorally by finally telling the truth about Brexit. This theme has also now been taken up by Chris Grey.
We in Oxford for Europe have also had our AGM. We celebrated another year of being together and making our contribution to the national debate. However, sadly we had to say goodbye to our long serving secretary, Jo Steele, who has now moved on. With her husband Andrew she will be taking up new challenges. I cannot say enough about how wonderfully Jo has contributed to our group from its very inception soon after the referendum. She has been indefatigable in holding the group together, arranging meetings, negotiating with outside bodies, being the go to person for all of her peers, and doing more than almost anyone else to drive the organisation forward. She will be missed not only by us but by Asylum Welcome, for whom she has been a volunteer, and by the East Oxford Liberal Democrats, of whom she and Andrew were both very active members. We will be forever in her debt and wish her well in her new idyll in rural Herefordshire.
We are pleased to say that she has a worthy successor. John Tanner has kindly offered to step into the role, and brings with him exceptional credentials. John is a committed European, and most recently he was secretary of the Oxford European Association, which has had as its mission to support EU nationals living in the Oxford area. In this role he has been responsible for numerous successful gatherings of our EU friends. OEA has now been dissolved, having fulfilled its main purpose, and some of its members have come across to become supporters of Oxford for Europe. In his previous life John has had jobs ranging from journalism and teaching English to campaigning and running citizens advice centres. He spent over 30 years as a City Councillor for Hinksey Park and later Littlemore Wards, and for some of this period multitasked as a county councillor for Isis Division. He has experience both as Lord Mayor of Oxford and as Leader of Oxford City Council. A member of the Labour Party, he has succeeded in winning respect right across the political spectrum. We look forward to working with him.
Once again, we are now into December, and I would like to wish all our members and supporters the very best in this season of goodwill
The views expressed here are the author’s own and not necessarily representative of Oxford for Europe
* I remember being corrected by a member of staff of the British Museum when I asked for directions to the “Elgin marbles”. I know that there is a variety of views about the best place for the marbles to be safely stored, but it seems to me that there is really very little to say in response to the accusation that Lord Elgin, in buying the marbles from the Ottoman occupiers and selling them to the British Museum, was doing nothing better than receiving stolen goods.
** See also here. I wonder if Starmer borrowed the term from me!
If you wish to comment on this blog, please send them to [email protected]
Please also keep an eye out for our series of meetings featuring brilliant speakers. Details here.
See Also:
https://www.facebook.com/OfEcomms
https://www.facebook.com/oxfordstays
Twitter / X: @Oxfordstays