The leader of the British Conservatives, Mr William Hague, relaunched his party's policies yesterday with a "pre-manifesto" summarising its approach to a variety of current political issues as a general election looms. There is a broad consensus within and without its ranks as to the need to renovate the party's image and appeal, after it has slipped back in opinion polls following an improvement in the early summer months.
Given that, yesterday's document had surprisingly little new to offer. Its main focus is on what it argues is the looming threat to Britain's national and political identity from the European Union. Mr Hague sees two broad routes opening up. One would lead to a "fully integrated superstate, with nationstates and the national veto disappearing". The other would be towards a Europe of nations "combining in different combinations for different purposes and to a different extent, a network Europe". This is the hinge on which Mr Hague hangs his categorical opposition to the UK joining the euro. He calls for taxation, health, welfare and defence to be ring-fenced off from European integration.
Mr Hague clearly hopes to galvanise Conservative supporters around the threat to Britain's future posed by these developments. Hostile public opinion towards the euro certainly shows there is a real issue there; but it is not at all clear that it is sufficiently strong to bear the weight Mr Hague wants to hang on it. Many believe he is distorting developments in the EU to suit his own political agenda. In that perspective the sharp contrast he draws between these two alternative routes would lead logically to British withdrawal from the EU rather than the quite unrealistic fragmentation of the system he calls for. And that could dramatically reduce Britain's international influence over decisions affecting its well-being.
These are the lines of division between the Conservatives and Labour opening up in the forthcoming party conference season, as reports indicate that Mr Blair's government is determined to present a more positive case for Britain joining the euro, so as to be able to exert maximum influence on EU affairs. The Conservative document accepts Scottish and Welsh devolution, but opposes giving MPs from those nations a say in English law-making; it rejects Labour's emerging plans for regional devolution in England, promises to strengthen the houses of parliament. There is nothing new in the document about taxation and macro-economic policy, other than a commitment to make Britain a world centre of excellence. The Conservatives are still vulnerable to Labour criticisms that their policies for lower taxation would involve deep cuts in existing levels of state expenditure. There are some new proposals for reforming education, housing, pensions and health. But for the most part they take the form of generalised aspirations, not detailed plans. They will do little to differentiate the Conservatives sharply from their opponents.