Some common sense is needed...otherwise it's just reckless

Mark Reckless MP has launched his proposal to reduce the EU budget. The Prime Minister's position is to call for a real terms freeze.

Personally, I'd love the see the EU budget reduced but I'd don't think it is possible. There are too many other countries which will not accept the position whereas there's quite a few influential countries who will stick by the real term freeze. We have to be realistic and if we go in with an unrealistic prospect we will just have to use the veto. If we veto then the budget will go up two percent, and we run the risk of future budgets being decided by qualified majority voting.

It's also playing into the Labour party hands. They've leapt onto this as a way of causing problems for the PM, they're not a real believer in lower budgets - otherwise they wouldn't have built up a huge structural deficit. Also at the last negotiation, they willingly gave up £5 Bn annual rebate for a supposed reduction of the CAP budget - which of course was never going to happen. They're just being cynical.

So let's be serious, stick to the freeze and hope we can push it through.We're going to have to reserve our vetos for the point when we have to threaten to stop further integration without a looser arrangement for the UK within an EEC type Europe.

We have to play this smart.

Squiffy.