Incisive and topical campaigns and commentary on today's issues and tomorrow's problems

             The latest car sales figures confirm that the UK is beginning to grow and recover whilst the Euro area remains mired in deep recession.  The five months to May saw car sales in the UK rise by 11%. In Germany car sales fell 8.8%, in France they fell by 11.9% and in Italy by 11.3%. Continental car sales were very weak in 2012 as well.

            In the UK the inflation figures for last  month came out a little higher thanks to air fares and petrol. The underlying inflation figures were better and point to likely further falls in the rate . A more stable pound and falling commodity prices will also help.

            Confidence is picking up in the Uk economy according to latest surveys. House prices have started to advance and there is a pick up in building as a result.

          Yesterday in Parliament several weighty EU documents were considered by the Commons. It was a timely reminder of the huge scope and breadth of the EU project. It underlined how much power has already gone to Brussels, and how much more they need and want to complete their Euro union. We had just 90 minutes to consder 294 pages of  documentation on the financial and economic matters alone. It meant some of us were unable to speak in detail on these issues.

             Bill Cash, the Chairman of the European Scrutiny Committee, highlighted how the EU is now seeking to assert the primacy of the European Parliament over the UK and other national Parliaments. I supported him in objecting to this development. The Minister confirmed that the government is well aware of this attempt and are themselves seeking to prevent any such claim becoming established.

               The central documents related to the Financial Transaction Tax, where the UK is refusing to join, and the enhanced economic and banking integration for the Eurozone which the Uk is not part of . It is becoming increasingly clear that the UK needs a new relationship soon. The growing tentacles of the Euro project are forcing the Euro members to surrender more power and pool more of their decisions.

                  Belonging to a single currency is like sharing a bank account with the neighbours. The countries that pay most money into the common bank account at the ECB are wanting  more central control over  the ones who draw money out. They understandably want controls over banks to prevent weak banks undermining the system, and controls over states to stop them  borrowing and spending too much. There is in effect one overdraft, and the prudent do not want it to expand at their expense.

                  I sought assurances that UK banks would still be regulated here and not by the common banking regulators of the Euro system. It is becoming more difficult to keep control of UK matters within the UK, given the all embracing plans and the relentless pressures, often mounted under cover of the so called single market.

Later than some of us wanted, today marks the end of Nato responsibility for the security forces and combat roles in Afghanistan. It is a fitting day to thank our troops for all their brave and loyal service, and to wish the Afghans well in assuming full responsibiltiy for the security of their own country.

We still have troops at risk. They have to remain vigilant at base. Let us hope they are not called on to undertake more combat roles by the Afghans, as that would imply continuing high levels of violence and remaining issues with the training of the Afghan troops.

It also means we can plan a different kind of defence force. Freed of combat duties in Afghanistan, and staying out of other Middle Eastern wars changes the role of the military. It  will mean for the first time in many years the British army is not preoccupied by a major conflict or heavily involved in difficult policing in divided communities resorting to violence. It also stops  a major drain on the budget.

The new military that emerges from the Defence Review and budget reductions needs to have a well armed expeditionary capability in case of future need and trouble. It also needs to be modelled around its prime function, defending the UK from any possible attack. This means proficiency in cyberspace as well as by land ,sea and air. It also means having the naval and air capacity to help police the world’s sea lanes and trade routes. It certainly means retaining a credible nuclear deterrent. It is a different role, but still a vital one.

Sometimes international meetings turn out to be timely. There is some global crisis which needs attention. Whatever the agenda of the summit may say, however well crafted it may be, events take it over. Sometimes there is mercifully no such crisis, so the Summiteers have to concentrate on the pre arranged agenda and feel under some compulsion to come up with an answer or an agreed policy.

The latest G8 has partly been overtaken by the changing stance of the USA on Syria and the Russian response to it. There are limits, however, to what the Summit can do, given the sharp differences of view that we know about between Russia and the USA over this issue. The West will be aware that the UN is not about to give cover for any military intervention by the west. They should also know that escalation in these circumstances can be a dangerous game. It is good that Mr Hague has recognised that neither the UN nor the UK Parliament wish  the Uk government to become involved militarily. He has reaffirmed that no decision has been taken to arm the rebels, and would be well advised to understand just how much opposition there is to this course of action.

The G8 should move on to the issues of jobs, trade and economic growth. I do not think there is much by way of a showy communique they can produce. Best of all would be some movement in favour of more free trade around the world, taking down obstacles to economic progress. Sometimes the best outcome is that there is no real outcome.

The economies of Europe rely in no small measure on building luxury brands and selling the products to the better off of the world.

The brand of champagne is one of the oldest and most famous of these products.We can learn from the French success at building this brand. It is a way for relatively affluent French workers to maintain their living standards in a very competitive and tough world.

The brilliance of the brand and the marketing is obvious. The product is defined by association with success, happiness and life’s landmarks. Most want or aspire to a champagne wedding, a champagne moment in sport, a glass on graduating, a taste at landmark birthdays. This wine gets ample free publicity every time someone wins a grand prix or a test match. No-one suggests putting the champagne on ice for a funeral, or to drown sorrows if you have just failed your exam or lost the race. Champagne, by ruthless control of the settings and the brand values, has achieved the ad man’s dream of only good associations.

They have also achieved the use of the word for something more than just a product description. A “champagne moment” is not literally one where you sip champagne whilst taking the perfect cricket catch or scoring the best goal. The champagne lifestyle is more than affording a bottle of bubbles on saturday night.

The brand is sustained by strict controls. No-one outside a specified area of France is allowed to make a champagne, though there are plenty of winemakers elsewhere in the world who can make great bubbly wines, and can use similar techniques to the French. Controlling the use of the name keeps the wine scarce and keeps prices high.

The high prices are buttressed by draconian controls in champagne country itself. Only designated fields can grow champagne grapes, and the wine can only be made from three controlled varieties. Other fields adjacent to the vineyard, with similar soil and same aspects, are not permitted for crop expansion. The premier cru wine has to be made from just a few designated special village areas. No other grape will do, however good the alternative grape might be.

Talk to the believers in champagne and they will tell you it has to stay this restricted. The “magic” comes from the scarcity. Others outside might say that as the world is producing so many more better off people who want their own champagne moments, maybe they could expand the vineyards and increase the output more rapidly without damaging the brand and the prices. After all, Germany has mass produced luxury cars under the Mercedes and BMW labels and got away with it. They are still thought to be luxury or special by many people, even though there are so many of them now.

If Europeans want to keep up their high living standards in a world where many more countries are working smarter and harder, Europe will need more of these great brands. Europeans also need to know how and when to stretch the brands, so they keep their magic but serve many more people. French winemakers underestimated the excellence of their Californian competitors in the second half of the last century, only to be forced to recognise their quality and excellence in the end.

         It is conventional wisdom that a party needs to be united to win an election. This bears little relationship to reality. After  all the Conservative party of Margaret Thatcher was divided between wets and dries,with very different views on the economy and public spending, yet won three big victories. The government of Mr Blair was dominated by a major rift between himself and Mr Brown with daily stories of their rows from the battlefront, yet they too won three  large majorities, albeit with a falling percentage of the vote.

           However, perceptions matter and many people write the line that unity is good. I agree that it is better if the party is happy and broadly of the same view on the main issues, encouraging and supporting  the leadership in the preferred direction of travel. To achieve this requires not just mature conduct by followers, but also wise choices by leaders. It also requires controlled and supportive briefings of the press. Some argument and disagreement is also a good idea as well as inevitable,  showing and recognising  that the party is actively thinking and debating how to do better. The party in the country and msot of the MPs want the party to move quickly to giving us a new relationship with the EU that frees our democracy from EU government intervention.

           I have read in recent days that the Chief Whip is to be replaced. I have seen reference to at  least three people who might get the job. It is possible all this is made up by bored journalists, but it is more likely that someone thinks this kind of briefing is helpful. All it can do is pit colleague against colleague and lead to disappointments.

           I also read of several members of the 2010 intake who are due promotion to the threshold of the Cabinet, and several others who need to be brought into Ministerial positions. That is great for them if it happens, but in the meantime all those currently occupying the Ministerial jobs they might get are going to have a miserable time.

           I often read that there are two Conservative parties, the 2010 intake and the rest. It does not feel like that inside Parliament. The 2010 intake is a large one, with plenty of talent . It also has a very wide range of views, and  some strong campaigners.  It is interesting that members of the 2010 intake have led all the large rebellions in this Parliament, tabling the proposals on an EU referendum, Lords reform, cutting the EU budget and writing the letter on intervention in Syria. Far from being the loyal inner group having to fend off difficult colleagues from earlier intakes as some of the stories imply, they have often been the fire brands for change.

              A more united party needs to read in the press that the leadership likes the MPs and followers, and is happy working with them in the national interest. Stories about divisions can help create the very divisions we do not need or want. It is not a good idea to divide up MPs into modernisers versus traditionalists, or 2010 ers versus the rest. In Parliament all MPs are meant to be equal, each having one vote on every measure, and each having the same duty to represent their constituents.

          It is interesting that the party is very united in its enthusiasm to vote for a Conservative Bill to hold a referendum in due course. The party is also keen on many of the  measures to bring down the deficit by curbing the growth in public spending, and  keen on the Schools reforms as well as other government measures.

          According to the BBC there are six conservative candidates in the Iranian election, with one of them dubbed a “moderate conservative”  to imply he is the favoured one. Is this the best the BBC can do to describe and explain an election in a very different culture and political system? It seems designed to lead people to think they are like “Conservatives” in the UK. I doubt there are many policy and philosophical similarities between UK Conservatives and Iranian “conservatives”. If a single label describes all the competing candidates it is not a very helpful label to distinguish between them.

            MPs who have argued with Mr Hague against the UK arming the rebels have been told the purpose of arming the rebels is to provide the leverage on the Syrian government and its supporters and opponents to bring them to a Peace Conference.  This has not impressed the MPs who have heard  this argument.

             Now the USA has decided to arm the rebels we will find out if it does bring all to the negotiating table. Now the US intends to arm the rebels there is no obvious need for the Uk to do so as well. Let’s see if it works. Most MPs do think the answer to the Syrian war is a negotiated peace and wish all involved every success in bringing this about.

There is still intense debate in Whitehall and Westminster about how to reduce the growth in public spending in 2015-16. Groups of Conservative MPs are bubbling with ideas on how to do it.

The most popular ideas remain cutting Overseas aid, cancelling HS2, reducing subsidies to expensive ways of generating electricity, and cutting the overhead of government.

Some are saying the government should cut the number of departments merging Overseas Aid with the Foreign Office and DCMS with a mixture of Business and Education to save Ministerial and official salaries.

The Green Investment Bank proved to be very unpopular on this site. Maybe they should be  asked to raise the money they wish to invest in their fund from the private sector to save the taxpayer the costs.

Conservative MPs are also keen to put welfare onto a contributory basis so recent arrivals in the UK do not receive any taxpayer financed benefits, and to ensure the NHS charges all people for treatment who are not UK citizens or people with an established right of residence here.  They are also keen to send criminals back to their home country for trial or for imprisonment after trial.

It will be interesting to see how many of these more popular cuts get into the final policy. Many Conservative MPs will also vote against sending free weapons and other military assistance to people in Syria.

          I support the Board and Mr Hester’s decision to seek a new CEO now who can see the bank through privatisation. The Labour party is making heavy weather of this development, ignoring the fact that Mr Hester is not seeking to keep the job, and failing to understand the need for continuity of management from a new CEO over what might be several years of privatisation and its aftermath.