Tory strategists had hoped to keep Europe off the agenda at this year’s party
conference, but they seem to have failed already. The European Commission’s threat about
welfare claims has forced IDS into action. Ben Brogan reports that the work and pensions secretary was nothing short of visceral in his contempt for the “land grab”, which will
apparently cost £2.5 billion a year. But, IDS’s rage is quiet compared to John Redwood’s, who asks
“Why won’t he [William Hague] get on with renegotiating the UK position [in Europe]?”
Next is the EU’s Agency Workers Directive, which comes into force tomorrow. Businesses complain that this will significantly increase their costs and have asked ministers to postpone implementation, as the previous government did back in September 2009. The Brown premiership said it was delaying the directive until 2011, so as not to harm economic recovery.
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