Eurozone, Not Britain Should Pay For Portugal 'Bail-out'

European finance ministers are meeting today to discuss a request from Portugal to provide financial assistance to the country following previous ‘bail-outs’ of Greece and Ireland. The Treasury has failed to make clear so far today whether any UK contribution will be limited to that which may be entailed by our membership of the IMF or whether, indefensibly, it is proposed to use the EU natural disasters Mechanism.

I believe that the British taxpayer should not contribute to an EU bail-out for Portugal and that the Leader of Conservative MEPS, Martin Callanan, with Parliament in recess, speaks for the Party on this when he said that the UK should refuse to accept any liability for Portugal under the EU Mechanism.

Article 122 of the Lisbon Treaty states that other member states may be expected to help when another state experiences “difficulties caused by natural disasters or exceptional occurrences beyond its control”. The chronic issue for Portugal is that it has only been able to grow at 0.7% per year since joining the Euro and has failed to control it’s spending, so Article 122 cannot apply to this situation.

This is a matter for the Eurozone and I cannot see any basis whereby we could properly use the Mechanism to bail-out Eurozone countries. To use the Treaty this way is simply not lawful. Britain decided not to join the Euro, so we should not be asked to bail-out countries that did join. I don’t see how we can ask the British taxpayer to prop up a supranational European currency they do not want and they did not ask for.

Eurozone, Not Britain Should Pay For Portugal 'Bail-out'

Mark Reckless MP: The Case For An In/Out Referendum On Europe

Speaking yesterday (1st February 2011) in the House of Commons during the debate on the European Union Bill, Mark Reckless MP puts forward the case for a straight In/Out Referendum on the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union.

Mark Reckless MP: The Case For An In/Out Referendum On Europe

Support Ireland, Not The Euro

Mark Reckless MP speaking in the House of Commons during the Second Reading of the Loans To Ireland Bill on 15th December 2010



Mark's speech was made following a series of questions in the chamber on the issue of the Irish bail out, starting with a question to the Prime Minister David Cameron during PMQs. These are set out below (courtesy of TheyWorkForYou.com)

Loans to Ireland Bill (Allocation of Time): Loans to Ireland Bill (15 Dec 2010)Mark Reckless: The package is described as a bail-out of Ireland, but it is important that we recognise that Ireland has not asked for the bail-out and that it is not the package that the Irish would have wished. Ireland and the IMF proposed to write down bank senior debt-that is, default on an element of that debt-because they recognised that it would be very difficult, although not impossible, for Ireland...

Loans to Ireland Bill (Allocation of Time): Loans to Ireland Bill (15 Dec 2010)Mark Reckless: All we are doing is passing on to Ireland the quarter per cent. or so of benefit that we gain by being a better creditor than the eurozone. Most hon. Members feel that we should help Ireland, but I agree with my hon. Friend that it is not necessarily helpful to Ireland to have a huge amount of extra debt on top of the great debt it already has. On that basis, I understand his point.

Loans to Ireland Bill (Allocation of Time): Loans to Ireland Bill (15 Dec 2010)Mark Reckless: Will my right hon. Friend confirm that, notwithstanding previous assurances, this loan will not rank pari passu with the EU funds extended under the mechanism, but will be subordinated to them?

Loans to Ireland Bill (Allocation of Time): Loans to Ireland Bill (15 Dec 2010)Mark Reckless: It is enormously welcome that this country is working with Iceland and Ireland to support them in these very difficult times. The Chancellor has mentioned the current 7.5-year swap rate; can he tell us how much higher it is than when he first announced our participation in this bail-out?

Loans to Ireland Bill (Allocation of Time) (15 Dec 2010)Mark Reckless: We may have heard one or two "Hear, hears", and I am certainly someone who wants to speak on Second Reading, but let me make clear my appreciation for what my hon. Friend is doing. Any responsibility for the curtailment of time for Back Benchers should rest squarely where it belongs, which is with those on the Treasury Bench.

Oral Answers to Questions — Northern Ireland: National Asset Management Authority (15 Dec 2010)Mark Reckless: What assessment his Department has made of assets held by the Republic of Ireland's National Asset Management Agency in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Oral Answers to Questions — Northern Ireland: National Asset Management Authority (15 Dec 2010)Mark Reckless: Given the difficulty NAMA is having in managing these assets and the Republic's already over-indebted situation, would it not make sense for us to take some of those assets off its hands, as consideration for financial support we may give?

Oral Answers to Questions — Prime Minister: Engagements (15 Dec 2010)Mark Reckless: The BBC reports that the German Finance Minister wants to set an interest rate to punish Ireland. Will the Prime Minister confirm that this country wants to help Ireland?

Support Ireland, Not The Euro

Statement On Tuition Fees

Yesterday in a tense and emotional atmosphere, with student protest around Parliament, MPs voted by 323 to 302 votes to raise tuition fees from just over £3000, to £6000, and potentially to £9000.

I was one of the 302 who voted against that government proposal. Five other Conservative and twenty one Liberal Democrat colleagues joined me in the 'No' lobby. It is not easy to vote with only a minority of my side of the House but I know that it was also not easy for many MPs who did vote with the government to make their decision. I also pay tribute to Tracey Crouch MP who was as principled in her abstention as those of us who voted either for or against.

I found it particularly difficult to justify the suddenness of the move with one student required to pay only around £3000 but then another student, potentially a sister just one year behind at school, expected to pay two or three times more with very little warning. I also believe that as MPs we should make decisions and whenever possible try and explain those likely decisions before an election, rather than use a report from someone who is not elected, however distinguished, to justify a decision (the Browne Report).

I was enormously impressed by the students who put their case to me on this issue. They asked me why they should have to pay so much when Welsh and Scottish and in many cases EU students did not have to pay at all. I then showed David Willetts, the universities minister, detailed statistics showing that 46% of EU students due to repay a loan from the British taxpayer were in default. I have also asked govenment ministers how thay can justify an 80% decrease in grant to universities in the context of a 60% increase in our net payments to the EU.

I cannot justify it, and voted accordingly.

Statement On Tuition Fees

Over A Third Of Irish Want To Leave Euro For Pound

I commissioned top Irish pollster RED C to ask the following question to a representative sample of 1,000 people across the Republic of Ireland between 29/11/10 and 1/12/10:

“In light of the current financial crisis, would you support Ireland leaving the Euro and re-establishing a link with the pound sterling, or not?”.

Over a third of the sample answered ‘Yes’.

Support was strongest among the younger age groups and people with children. A majority of those who have already lost their jobs want Ireland to leave the Euro and return to sterling. Even 43% of Sinn Fein supporters now want to return to the pound (see full results).

In the 1990s I was UK Economist for Warburgs and argued that “the UK and Ireland would be especially badly affected by monetary union with the Continent” with Irish bank lending exploding out of control under EMU (see link1 and link2). The fall-out from that has now caused ruling Fianna Fail to fall behind Sinn Fein, even losing in my grandfather’s old seat in Donegal (Henry McDevitt TD 1938-43).

The EU thinks it can order whoever forms Ireland’s new government to slash spending and hike taxes to bail out the European Central Bank (ECB) and European investors in Irish banks. The EU is also demanding that the Irish people submit weekly reports on what they spend and is imposing an interest rate which is intended to punish rather than help.

Such behaviour by the EU may be a miscalculation because it rather assumes that the Irish have nowhere else to go. That is not the case. Individually tens, and perhaps soon hundreds, of thousands are emigrating to England and elsewhere to escape the Carolingian economic settlement.

Collectively, Ireland wants to renounce its politicians’ self-serving guarantee of senior bank debt but, despite IMF support, this has so far been vetoed by the EU and the ECB. Ireland also needs monetary policy better suited to its economy so as to avoid repeated boom-bust cycles in bank lending under the Euro.

The EU may successfully bully Greece or Spain, calculating that it would be too risky for them to reintroduce their own currency, but Ireland has another option. Already over a third of Ireland want bilateral arrangements with the UK, instead of what is on offer from the EU and the Euro, and that is before the EU measures begin to bite.

Over A Third Of Irish Want To Leave Euro For Pound

Questioning The Chancellor On Ireland Bail-out

From Hansard (22 November 2010):

Mark Reckless (Rochester and Strood, Conservative)
Is not the fundamental problem that Ireland has the wrong interest rate and the wrong exchange rate, and that Irish politicians made a fundamental mistake by joining the euro? Does the Chancellor agree that we must stand and support Ireland, and that should Ireland seek a return to sterling, it must have a seat on the Monetary Policy Committee?

George Osborne (Chancellor of the Exchequer, HM Treasury; Tatton, Conservative)

The first time I met my hon. Friend was when we were both at university together, and he gave a speech about exchange rates and the European exchange rate mechanism. He was absolutely right in his prediction of what would happen shortly thereafter, so it is good to hear him talk about exchange rates here in the House of Commons. I would make this observation: decisions on people's currencies must, as I am sure he would agree, be decisions for the nation state involved. I have made the observation-just because there has been some interesting speculation about this-that much of Ireland's sovereign debt is denominated in euros, which would remain whatever its currency was.

Questioning The Chancellor On Ireland Bail-out

Supporting Ireland, Not The Euro!

Mark Reckless MP today called on the coalition government to allow a full debate on the financial crisis in Ireland.

Speaking in the House, Mark proposed that the British government give the people of Ireland "whatever support is necessary to support an orderly return to sterling" and called on the Leader of the House, Sir George Young, to send out a clear message that not a penny of UK taxpayers' money will be spent on bailing out the Euro.

From Hansard:

Mark Reckless (Rochester and Strood) (Con): May I repeat the request for a debate on Ireland? My grandfather served in the Dail for Fianna Fail, and if he could see it now, he would be turning in his grave. Surely the message from this House to those politicians must be that we will not vote for a penny to bail out their euro, whereas the message to the Irish people must be that we will give whatever support is necessary to support an orderly return to sterling.

Sir George Young: I understand where my hon. Friend is coming from. I repeat what I said to my hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough (Mr Leigh). The Chancellor of the Exchequer will want to keep the House informed in the light of the discussions that are taking place in Dublin about the support that may be needed, but which, as I understand it, has not so far been requested by the Irish Government. This country has an interest in a stable and prosperous Ireland and, as I have said, we stand ready to do what we can to secure that objective.

Supporting Ireland, Not The Euro!

A Better Option For Ireland

Ireland is being bullied by Euro-zone countries to act in their best interests rather than its own:

• Portugal's finance minister urges Ireland “to do the right thing for the euro and accept a bail-out”;

• Spain’s finance minister tells Ireland to make the “proper decision”; and

• Angela Merkel can’t decide whether to protect German banks, who have over-lent to Ireland, or German taxpayers who would fund a bail out.

Ireland though will act in its own interests - and it has a better option than the two that were open to Greece. The Greeks had to do what they were told by the Germans, or re-establish the drachma.

In the long-term it might be best for Greece to go its own way. In the short-term though the costs of inflation, default and exclusion from the international capital markets would be high, and would only partially be offset by an inflow of bargain hunting tourists.

Unlike Greece, Ireland would not need to re-establish an independent currency, with all the short-term difficulties that would entail. Ireland could simply rejoin sterling and have a monetary policy more suited for Irish needs.

Germany’s Irish loans could be deemed to have been made in sterling, so as to provide a fair return but allow Ireland to start exporting its way back to growth. We would benefit from closer relations with Ireland and keep the spur of Irish tax competition which the EU would snuff out.

Every MP I have spoken to says they would be happy for Ireland to have a guaranteed seat on the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee. This would mean that, unlike before 1979, Ireland as a sovereign country would have a proper say in setting sterling interest rates.

When we raised the idea with David Liddington, our Europe minister, at the Conservative Foreign Affairs Committee yesterday he was positive, if Ireland wants to explore this option. I know the Chancellor will want to help Ireland stand up to bullying at ECOFIN today.

What better way than to let them know they can come back to sterling if the euro isn’t working for them?

A Better Option For Ireland

Debating The EU Budget

Debating The EU Budget

Mark Reckless MP Calls For Reduction In EU Budget

Mark Reckless MP has called for a reduction in the UK's contribution to the EU ahead of tomorrow's Comprehensive Spending Review.

Speaking alongside Sir Menzies Campbell on the BBC's Daily Politics show, Mark expressed his concern that the UK's contribution to the EU is set to rise at a time when the coalition government is forced find savings and cut public services in order to address the economic mess left by the last Labour government.

On top of the £1.9 billion increase to the EU budget the UK will be paying in 2011, the European Union has asked for a further increase of £380million to cover the cost of 'admin'. Mark recently joined 37 other Conservative MPs in supporting Douglas Carswell's amendment calling on the government to cut the UK's contribution to the EU.

Speaking on the Daily Politics, Mark said;

"In our country it is not the government that is sovereign, nor is it the EU. It is the Westminster Parliament, and if we say the EU budget is reduced, the government will reduce it.

Take child benefit for example. We're finding a billion by not giving it to top rate taxpayers although the commitment was to do so previously. There are now suggestions it will be taken away for children over sixteen. But at the same time I find that we are paying £70million every year to children elsewhere in the EU in child benefit who aren't even here. Now surely that is something we should consider. We can't have the EU as the only area that is exempt - that is going up 60% - while finding these reductions elsewhere. We must make savings."

Mark Reckless MP Calls For Reduction In EU Budget

Residents' Survey - Have Your Say

Dear Resident

I wanted to write to you in advance of the upcoming general election to give you an opportunity to have your say on some of the key issues which we face, both as a country and locally.

If we win the election, a Conservative government will need to make difficult decisions to put the economy and public finances back on track. I want to ensure that this is done in the least painful way possible. In particular, if elected as our MP, I will first and foremost seek to represent my constituents in Westminster, rather than defend the government in Rochester and Strood.

I am not now an MP and played no part in the expenses scandal. I therefore share everyone else's anger about how MPs behaved, and I believe that we need a new Parliament with new MPs to clean up the system. Being elected as an MP should be a privilege and an opportunity for public service, not an opportunity for private profit.

I hope that you will take a few minutes to the complete the survey form online, or complete the survey on the back of the letter you received and return it in the Freepost envelope provided.

I particularly look forward to hearing your views on the local NHS, as Medway Maritime Hospital is about to appoint a new Chief Executive, and where you would like to see more police patrols, as I am our representative on the Kent Police Authority.

Yours faithfully



Mark Reckless
Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Rochester and Strood

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Residents' Survey - Have Your Say

Rochester and Strood Conservatives Welcome Georgian Ambassador

Rochester and Strood Conservatives were delighted to welcome the Georgian Ambassador, His Excellency Giorgi Badridze (second from left in photo), on Saturday.

The open air dinner, kindly hosted (under a range of gazebos and umbrellas!) by Jim and Merita Jones at their home in High Halstow, marked the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Georgia last year.

At the time Gordon Brown did nothing while David Milliband merely expressed concern and called on both sides to withdraw forces, a rather puzzling response to Russia having invaded Georgia.

In contrast, David Cameron immediately flew to the Georgian capital, Tbilisi to offer support to the beleaguered democratically elected government. The ambassador identified this as the key moment which pushed the British and European governments to give diplomatic support to Georgia and negotiate a Russian ceasefire short of Tbilisi.

I was honoured to introduce the ambassador and assure him that a democratic Georgia would always have a staunch friend in Britain under a Conservative government.

Rochester and Strood Conservatives Welcome Georgian Ambassador

Medway European Election Result

Mark Reckless would just like to thank all of the party members, activists and supporters from Rochester and Strood who helped the Conservatives win the European Election here in Medway.

And thanks also go out to all of the MEPs who took the time to visit and campaign with us during the past month or so, though commiserations must go out to Mark's friend Therese Coffey who came agonisingly close to becoming the Conservatives' fifth MEP here in the South East region last night. So close, yet so far, but certainly not through lack of effort on her part.

Last night we 'live blogged' the result from the Black Lion Leisure Centre (now removed to keep things tidy), so we thought we'd repost the result today showing confirmation that the Conservatives won handsomely in Medway receiving 18,502 votes (an increase on the amount of votes we received in 2004 which was quite amazing really).

As was widely expected UKIP came in second taking 12,841 votes, solidly beating Labour into third who could only muster 8,745 votes - their worst result ever in Medway.

Conservative Party 18,502
United Kingdom Independence Party 12,841
The Labour Party 8,745
Liberal Democrats 5,460
British National Party 4,741
The Green Party 4,283
English Democrats 1,698
Christian Party "Proclaiming Christ's Lordship" 851
No2EU: Yes to Democracy 613
Socialist Labour Party 521
Pro Democracy: Libertas.eu 425
United Kingdom First 392
Jury Team 256
The Peace Party - Non-Violence, Justice Environment 210
The Roman Party, Ave! 136

One has to wonder what morale must be like within the Labour group at this time because it was noticeable at last evening's count that not one of the local Labour representatives who bothered to turn up chose to wear a rosette or show any kind of party affiliation. In fact, if you were a neutral you would have been hard pushed to detect any kind of Labour presence at the count whatsoever. Quite, quite poor. This was compounded by the fact that not one of the three Labour MPs who represent Medway constituencies chose to put in an appearance on the night to rally the troops and represent their constituents. Perhaps they were too busy preparing their exit strategy for the next election.

As Ian Duncan Smith said earlier today, "Labour morale is so low you could slide it under a snake."

The one thing that is clear though is that the people of the United Kingdom have sent a clear message to Labour that they want Change, and they want it now. No longer can Labour claim to govern with any sort of mandate, and though they may try and pin their woeful performances in both the county council and European elections on the expenses scandal, the plain fact of the matter is that the British people are no longer listening to them. What we have is a zombie government led by a zombie leader. Only the Conservative party can clean up Labour's mess. We've done it before, and we'll do it again but we need a General Election NOW!

Once again, thanks to everyone for all their hard work, and thanks too to the Returning Officer, the counters and administrators, the Police, and everybody else from Medway Council who ensured last night ran as smoothly as possible. And most of all, thanks to everyone who made the effort to come out and vote.

We look forward to doing it all again as soon as possible!

Get Change For A Fiver - Donate Now

Medway European Election Result

Vote Conservative On 4th June

I was delighted to lead such a good team in the sun out canvassing over the weekend.

There is clearly a lot of anger about how MPs have behaved, but it seems to have engaged people who might not otherwise vote in Euro elections.

Some will vote for minor parties, but many more will vote Conservative because they know that is the way to get Gordon Brown and Labour out.

For our country's sake the change must come sooner rather than later, so that we can roll up our sleeves and start cleaning up the mess.

Photo: Mark Reckless canvassing with Richard Ashworth MEP

Vote Conservative On 4th June

Canvassing On The Esplanade

Today (Sunday 10th May) Mark and a group of 15 local supporters hit the Esplanade to canvas voters ahead of the European Elections which are being held on 4th June. We were also joined by Therese Coffey who is standing as one of the Conservative South East candidates and it was great to have her with us on such a sunny day.

Canvassing on a Sunday is always a risky venture as a lot of people are either not at home, or simply have other things to be getting on with, and given today's wonderful weather we would not have been surprised if we managed to find only a handful of people willing to spend some of their valuable time answering questions on how they're planning to vote in the forthcoming elections.

But find them we did, and we were really glad to have come away with such a positive response. In the space of a couple of hours we managed to cover the entire Esplanade and found little or no support for Labour, but plenty for the Conservatives. For a lot of people, this election will not just be about selecting the party they want representing their interests in Europe, it will also be their first opportunity to deliver a verdict on Gordon Brown and the inept government he is imposing on this country. And we can tell you, judging by some of the comments we got today there are a LOT of angry people out there who are planning on wiping that grin off his face.

One gentleman we spoke to really didn't pull his punches. He runs a small business and is finding it really difficult in the current economic circumstances to keep things ticking over. The thing he was most angry about was the fact that, despite Gordon Brown's rhetoric about helping small businesses through the recession and the endless rhetoric on making the right decisions, the help that Labour say is being provided just doesn't exist. It's all just paper talk.

We've had policy announcement after policy announcement, promise after promise but the plain fact of the matter is that on the ground the help that this business needs like many others all over the country simply isn't there. It's all just empty promises and bluster from a failed government with a failed leader. Needless to say, he is planning on voting Conservative on June 4th.

We sincerely hope this business does manage to survive through the recession. The Conservative party have been calling for real help for small businesses like this man's from day one of the recession, but our calls for help have fallen on deaf ears and if this business does make it through the downturn then it will be in spite of Labour, not because of it.

This country needs real change, and on June 4th you can help deliver that change by getting out and voting Conservative.

Canvassing On The Esplanade

"Mark Reckless: The Right Kind Of MP" by Daniel Hannan MEP

Many congratulations to the Conservatives of Rochester and Strood, who have wisely readopted Mark Reckless as their candidate. I ought to declare an interest: Mark is one of my oldest friends, and was my best man. (He insisted on organising my stag night in Reykjavik, determined that we should celebrate Iceland's status outside the EU.)

In an age when many politicians see preferment as an end in itself, Mark is refreshingly independent: an unapologetic tax-cutter (he was once one of Britain's top-rated economists), a radical libertarian, a localist and an opponent of EU membership. Unsurprisingly, not everyone in the party hierarchy was keen on his candidature.

He is now in the happy position of having secured the Tory nomination with no help - indeed, considerable opposition - from the Conservative machine. The Whips would doubtless have preferred someone more malleable; but the Medway Tories couldn't have done better. During the final round, Mark made a point of telling activists that, before they voted, they should be aware that he disagreed with the party line on several issues; they elected him outright on the first ballot.

Originally posted 28th July 2008 on Daniel Hannan's Telegraph blog - Click Here to view the original

"Mark Reckless: The Right Kind Of MP" by Daniel Hannan MEP