All very well coming out with banner headlines on individual tax cuts but we need a longer term strategic view to be spelt out. We need a flat tax with large reductions in benefits and a wholesale privatisation of government assets, yes including forests,the NHS and the BBC

Your defence has a hint of desperation about it. The archbishop should not be faulted for criticising this or any government, he has his flock to look after, but he can be faulted for its content. It is clear that the coalition has a democratic mandate, it is clear that the NHS and Education are in a parlous state. He has simply donned his political hat to attack the government in support of Labour and parroted their ludicrous nonsense.

All credit to the Tories, however I do not think the Scots will vote for independence. Yes I know Alex Salmond is a wily political operator, but he has a flaw, he is to clever by half, and he will come unstuck before any referendum

I think it is 'Williams' trying to score cheap points, the man is a disgrace.

Williams is our new Vince Cable, a demagogue and a socialist who says one thing and means we know not what. It is a sad day when the Head of the C of E cannot recognise the poverty of the Welfare system, and the client state that goes with it.The destruction of the individual's values, their independence and accountability.

I obviously can't define the number any more than you can on fixing public services. However I can point to numerous polls that indicate many people do not want to be part of the EU, many Tory MP's also want a referendum. In fairness I think I can claim that it is pretty much indisputable that many people want a referendum and we have also been promised one by all 3 main parties in the past.

Sorry Elaine you have got this wrong, I don't think Cameron feels any pressure, the eurosceptics have been talking the talk for too long without any gain. UKIP has something that the Tories would desperately like back ..... 1 million voters and if they could achieve that they would probably have a majority government elected in 2015.

Absolutely, they should be talking to other Tory MP's, Carswell, Redwood, Cash et al http://goo.gl/4eZgf

Elaine, working from within has been failing for years, Carswell, Redwood, Cash, Hannan et al talk the talk but they get nowhere. They need to put country before party!! http://goo.gl/4eZgf

The Conservative Assn. are hopeless, basically they are self serving organisations, a closed shop, who are only interested in keeping themselves and their friends in control. Nothing to do with expanding the membership etc!!

What are public buildings? By the very description one would expect free expression. As to Companies and their dress codes I have no problem with that at all. My take on winning a referendum:http://goo.gl/4eZgf

I want a referendum because I believe many people in this country want out, however if we have a referendum I may be wrong. I can live with that, at least we will know what the majority believe and can put the issue behind us. But 'waiting for the best time'? I don't think so, we have been arguing etc for too many years over this issue and it is time for people to have the opportunity to say what they want.

I left the Conservative party when Cameron stated he had no intention of granting a referendum, I have been a strong supporter of Cameron but to deny a referendum when so many want it was not something I could accept. I have considered UKIP but I am not comfortable with their leadership, Farage is good on the media but he has not been able to take the party to the next level. I am not happy with some of their policies and find it bizarre that a 'libertarian' party should advocate banning the burka, but when challenged they are not convincing in their explanations.

You seem very relaxed about timescales, I would put it to you that if we are not able to win a referendum on in/out by the next election we will very likely have lost our sovereign independence for ever. We will simply have become completely enmeshed in the EU through 2015 - 2020 and will have become a nation of Europeans by default. You were in a strong position as a UKIP MEP to work / talk with eurosceptics within the Tory party. It is time for these MP's to resign the Tory whip en blocm (maybe 10 to 20 of them) unless a referendum is granted. This would be a hugely powerful and influential group and I believe would attract other like minded MP's & MEP's. However you have simply come back to the Tory party, having already taken the decision to leave on account of our membership of the EU, to do exactly what?

But Martin you are in the wrong party, UKIP is politically and economically right of the Tories!! But having read quite a few of your comments I have to say you are left of centre so how do you square this with being UKIP member??

This is all highly speculative, unless the Tories take notice of Mondeo man and woman they are not going to be re-elected. All they hear to date is cuts, tax increases, extra green taxes,more aid to the developing World and a perceived softening on crime. This is hardly what the people want in the UK, if we ignore them we will not win the next election.

The Tories are in danger of being put in the position of 'catch up' as Euroscepticism is on the increase, with the TrueFinns the latest to join the fray successfully. In the UK the Tories are exposing themselves to being seriously outflanked by UKIP, who at the last election garnered 1 million votes. Not many you may think spread across the country,around 3% of the total vote. However what if they were to even do a mini TrueFinn and increase their share of the vote to 7/10%? It would increase the huge damage they did at the last election to the Tories chance of a majority. Let's not forget the Libdems had 23% of the vote and that looks as if a large percentage of it could well be up for grabs. The message to the Tories is to force Cameron to grant a referendum on the EU, how is the question to those Tory MP's who are strongly Eurosceptic like Redwood, Davis, Carswell, Cash et al. Time for action! Well it's crunch time, Country before party and all that, and time for the Eurosceptics to resign the Tory whip and if necessary join or have a loose association with UKIP to force this huge issue. If we go into another general election and have not won a referendum we are in serious danger of ending up as another European state under the rule of Brussels and Berlin for ever.

Also Nick, I am not a member of UKIP. I hope that EU sceptics within the Tory party will take a stand by resigning from the Tory whip until Cameron agrees to a referendum

You are absolutely wrong in your assumption! Cameron did promise a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty but once it was law he had an argument not to. However since in power he has made it crystal clear that he supports the EU and has no intention of seeking the electorate's view through a referendum This is despite the spurious referendum we are now involved in over the voting system, demanded by a small political party. The strong demands by the electorate for a referendum are being ignored. I am genuinely sorry to have left the Tory Party, I have supported Cameron since day 1, but the issue of the EU for me, transcends all other issues at this time.

I agree with your analysis of the current Conservative policy and the only way the eurosceptic MP's can change this before the next election is to put Country before party. ie. Resign the Conservative whip en bloc This is the only way they have a hope of changing things, but we all know, unfortunately, that they will not be willing to make that sacrifice

On the contrary TrueFinns is great news for eurosceptics in the UK. It shows a minority party can achieve a huge increase in it's popularity due to its Euroscepticism. This bodes well for the UK, where UKIP if they play their cards well, could be the beneficiaries of such popularity at the next election. I have been a Cameron supporter since he became leader of the party, but his refusal to countenance a referendum over the EU has forced me to leave the Conservative party which I regret.

'good British contacts' Yes, I agree but wouldn't judge Brown to be a good British contact!!

" David Cameron appeared to rule out Gordon Brown becoming the head of the IMF " Appeared to rule out!! The answer should have been: " Not over my dead body "

The beginnings of the decline of the US empire are inexorable! It's the 'welfare state' that's the cause, dismantle it and we will then be able to compete again.