In other news...chicken gets more votes than UKIP candidate.

Bad news for labour

ukip often take votes from tories.

Plus bad news for pro europe lobby since the tories will push for eurosceptic listings of candidates to secure more seats.

Our future in the EU will be in danger if there is a new tory gov't and in even more with this news.

It's got to the point where I don't see that as a bad thing. It was a great idea, a free trade zone, but it's turned into a bureaucratic mess that wastes money on making pointless laws. Why every country has to have the same laws is beyond me.

It makes it easier for companies to trade within the EU. It also gives citizens a basic level of rights. Otherwise many countries would simply try and gain an advantage by getting exemptions to these rules.

That's my point, it's gone way beyond basic. It's now so complex that on EU human rights law contradicts another. How many time have you read a silly story in a paper with someone claiming it's an abuse of their human rights.

When the Human Rights Act came in the was going to be a number of years where the law adjusts to the Human Rights Act. Though that process still has not been completed.

+1, not to mention the issues thrown up over the wearing of a burka here and in France, for instance...

I think that there are certain rights where the EU is better than here, The Digital Britian Bill that the government are forcing on us. The law will be unlawful under EU law.

As for Burkas I think that they should be banned as well, because they are a security risk. You should be forced to take one off when in a shop of office, even using a ATM because it hides its users identity.

Yes, I often wondered if the government always intended for the EU to kill off the bill's new laws in the long run... I also hope a government minister gets caught downloading or something

I'm not for banning the burka, just having guidelines on when and where it's acceptable over health and safety issues, airports etc.

I've told you before, the EU and the ECHR are completely different things! The Human Rights Act has nothing to do with the European Union.

Even assuming the UK could leave the EU, we'd never in a million years get away with withdrawing from the ECHR - it'd be met with international condemnation.

It would not stop the Tories or UKIP trying.

Tbh, I quite like the fact we'd have the balls to do it at all in that situation

And we'd hardly be taking any lectures from the French on it, or any of the smaller countries (we'd just ignore them like we usually do).

You do realise that we're a founding member of the ECHR? It's not like we were forced into it, we've been there from the very beginning!



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/948143.stm

That's why I said 'in that situation', I know it's only a pipe dream