Saturday 28 December 2013
Grayling fury at EU bid to bring in even more 'human rights': Justice Secretary says plan is 'absurd' power grab, Daily Mail
- If introduced, it is feared they could lead to a deluge of claims against businesses and the Government
- Contained in the EU's controversial Charter of Fundamental Rights
- Mr Grayling said the suggestion showed Eurocrats were aiming to create a European justice system that overrides domestic courts
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Chris Grayling today condemns Brussels over an 'absurd' proposal to bring dozens of new European human rights into British law
Justice Secretary Chris Grayling today condemns Brussels over an ‘absurd’ proposal to bring dozens of new European human rights into British law.
If introduced, it is feared they could lead to a deluge of claims against businesses and the Government.
The rights are contained in the European Union’s controversial Charter of Fundamental Rights. The UK opted out of the charter in 1998, but now the European Comission has suggested it could be imposed on all member states.
Mr Grayling said the suggestion showed Eurocrats were aiming to create a European justice system that overrides domestic courts.
‘This country never wanted a charter of fundamental rights and the idea we would sign up to changes that meant it took over our domestic laws is absurd,’ the Justice Secretary said.
‘The European Commission should stop trying to create a European justice system, and should let member states get on with solving the real challenges we all face.’ His intervention marks a significant stepping up in Tory efforts to demonstrate how they want a looser, more trade-based relationship with the EU ahead of the European elections in May.
Mr Grayling’s anger has been prompted by a document produced by the European Commission suggesting that the charter should apply in all member states.
The blueprint, which contains 54 provisions – including the right to strike and the right to collective bargaining – was attached to the EU’s controversial Lisbon Treaty.
The then PM Tony Blair told MPs it was ‘absolutely clear that we have an opt-out’ from the charter. But a new consultation document calls for it to be implemented throughout the EU.
It says people’s ‘interests in and expectations about the enforcement of fundamental rights by the EU are high’. It goes on to suggest that ‘one option would be to make all fundamental rights guaranteed in the charter directly applicable in member states.’
Mr Grayling's anger has been prompted by a document produced by the European Commission suggesting that the charter should apply in all member states
The Human Rights Act 1998 incorporated into our domestic law large parts, but not all, of the European Convention on Human Rights. Some parts were deliberately omitted by Parliament. The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union contains all of the missing parts and many further provisions.
The new discussion document also suggests a stronger role for the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, though it concedes the steps proposed would require the agreement of member states. Mr Grayling said a Tory-led government would never agree to the proposal to adopt the charter.
However, many of the rights in the charter would be greeted with delight by trade unions who are likely to pressure Labour to accept them.
In the field of employment law, the charter guarantees rights in areas such as collective bargaining, unjustified dismissal, ‘fair and just’ working conditions and maternity and parental leave.
Mr Grayling will play a key part in Tory efforts to rein in the influence of European human rights law, which has stalled under the Coalition because of the fierce resistance of the Liberal Democrats.
Earlier this year, Mr Justice Mostyn also expressed concern about the potential influence of the charter
The Justice Secretary is understood to be considering draft legislation setting out how a Conservative-only government would replace Labour’s Human Rights Act with a British Bill of Rights and reassert the authority of the Supreme Court over the European courts.
He argues that the creeping influence of European courts in British law is unacceptable and underlines the case for renegotiating Britain’s membership of the EU.
Earlier this year, a senior judge also expressed concern about the potential influence of the charter.
Mr Justice Mostyn’s comments came in a judgment on the case of an asylum seeker whose barrister cited the document in a failed bid to win his case.
The judge said he was ‘surprised, to say the least,’ by the claim, adding: ‘I was sure the British government had secured an opt-out at the negotiations of the Lisbon Treaty’. Yet the European Court had suggested that the opt-out ‘does not intend to exempt the UK from the obligations to comply with the provisions of the charter’.
The Conservative pledge is likely to be revived in the next Tory manifesto after being underlined by a draft Bill.
Some Tories – including several Cabinet ministers – want to go further and withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights.
Last night a spokesman for the European Commission said: ‘This paper was published several months ago to stimulate debate at a conference in November.
‘It had a disclaimer saying it did not represent the position of the European Commission. Changes to the Charter – which covers only EU law – could indeed only be made if the UK signed up to them.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2530182/Grayling-fury-EU-bid-bring-human-rights-Justice-Secretary-says-plan-absurd-power-grab.html#ixzz2omZ6OfSY
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This worryingly crowded isle: England is officially Europe's most densely packed country, Daily Mail Story
This worryingly crowded isle: England is officially Europe's most densely packed country
- England has overtaken the Netherlands and is second only to tiny Malta
- Over the next 30 years the gap is expected to widen even more
- Figures show the huge impact of Labour’s open-door immigration policy
By JAMES SLACK
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England has become the most overcrowded major country in Europe.
Population growth is so rapid that four times as many people will soon be crammed in as France and twice as many as Germany.
England has overtaken the Netherlands to become second only to tiny Malta as the most densely populated nation in the EU.
Squeeze: England has overtaken the Netherlands to become the most densely populated major nation in the EU
Over the next 30 years the gap will widen because Germany, France and Holland will either decline or grow only slowly.
The House of Commons figures – based on data from the UK and EU statistical agencies – show the huge impact of Labour’s open-door immigration policy.
By 2046, an estimated 494 people will be squeezed into every square kilometre of England compared with 411 now and only 374 when Tony Blair took power in 1997.
Lax controls: The figures - based on data from the UK and EU statistical agencies - show the huge impact of Labour's open-door immigration policy
The revelations will fuel the debate over immigration, especially with the UK opening its borders to Romanian and Bulgarian workers on New Year’s Day.
James Clappison, the Tory MP who obtained the figures, said: ‘Under the last Labour government, England’s green and pleasant land became England’s green and crowded land.
ENGLAND FEELS THE SQUEEZE
Number of people expected to be living per square kilometre in 2015 - by country
- England - 419
- Holland - 408
- Wales - 258
- Germany - 226
- Italy - 205
- N. Ireland - 130
- Poland - 123
- Portugal - 116
- France - 105
- Romania - 89
- Bulgaria - 66
- Scotland - 40
‘For reasons which have never been properly explained, Labour instigated a policy of massive expansion of immigration.
The fear must be a future Labour government would do the same’. Sir Andrew Green, chairman of the Migrationwatch think-tank, said 90 per cent of immigrants to the UK headed to England.
‘The rapidly growing population density is an inevitable consequence of Labour’s mass immigration of nearly four million in 13 years,’ he added.
‘We already see the pressure on maternity units and primary schools. Less visible is the pressure on housing, which is already in crisis.
‘We will need to build 200 houses a day for the next 20 years or so simply for new immigrants and their families.’
The House of Commons report says the number of people living in every square kilometre in England will rise from 411 now to 419 in 2015, to 433 in 2020 and to 460 in 2030.
By 2046, an astonishing 494 people will be living in each square kilometre.
The equivalent figure for France will be just 115, for Germany 204 and the Netherlands 421.
By 2015, England will also be more than three times more packed than Poland – where an estimated one million of the arrivals under Labour originated from.
The research raises concerns about how the UK’s infrastructure can cope with the increased pressure on schools, hospitals and roads.
Clash: Liberal Democrat Business Secretary Vince Cable, left, likened David Cameron's policies to Enoch Powell’s notorious 1960s ‘rivers of blood’ speech
The large numbers packed into the country will also affect water and power supplies, and will increase pressure to build over green spaces.
David Cameron, under pressure to confront the electoral threat posed by UKIP, has changed the law to prevent EU migrants claiming any benefits in the first three months following arrival.
DAILY MAIL COMMENT
In the wake of the open door immigration policies deliberately pursued by New Labour, England is now the most crowded country in Europe.
By 2015, there will be twice as many people crammed into every square kilometre as in Germany, and four times more than in France.
Only three decades from now, unless there is a significant tightening in border controls, there will be almost 495 people living in each square kilometre – compared to only 374 when Labour came to power in 1997.
Vince Cable and his colleagues on the Left disgracefully suggest that it is somehow racist to worry about immigration.
As our revelations show, it has nothing to do with race – and everything to do with how schools, social services, the NHS and housing can possibly be expected to cope with such unprecedented pressure.
Officials say they want to reduce the ‘pull factor’ to the UK.
Last weekend, tensions between the two Coalition government parties boiled over when Liberal Democrat Business Secretary Vince Cable likened Tory policies to Enoch Powell’s notorious 1960s ‘rivers of blood’ speech.
The Office for National Statistics has already warned that Britain must make room for almost 10million more people over the next 25 years – the equivalent of building a city even larger than London.
The increase, mainly a result of immigration and high migrant birthrates, will push numbers to 73.3million by 2037.
A Home Office spokesman said: ‘Immigration has brought benefits to the UK and we welcome people who want to come here to contribute to our economy and society.
‘However, it is important to control immigration because of its effect on social cohesion, our public services, and on jobs and wages.’
The figures for the rest of the UK in 2015 are predicted to be: Scotland 40 per square kilometre, Wales 258 and Northern Ireland 131. Malta’s figure is expected to be 1,308.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2530125/This-worryingly-crowded-isle-England-officially-Europes-densely-packed-country.html#ixzz2okvhb5FZ
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