» Friday, May 20, 2005
Prime Minister’s Health
Asked for an update on the Prime Minister's back, the PMS said the Prime Minister was fine and was working as usual.
Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (7)
Electoral Commission
Asked if we were going to accept the Electoral Commission's recommendations, the PMS said we were going to consider them. The Electoral Administration Bill would shortly be introduced. This would put forward a number of changes to the present system, as we wanted to ensure that elections were continued to be run in a safe and secure manner.
Briefing took place at 11:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
» Thursday, May 19, 2005
Northern Ireland
Asked if there was any insight into the Northern Ireland Talks, especially Reverend Paisley's comments about a fresh start the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) said, as a quick reminder of where we were, that the two key principles were a complete end to all paramilitary and criminal activity by the IRA and then if that happened a commitment by Unionists to sharing power. Therefore, yes what we were looking for was a fresh start based on those two key principles. The key to that at the moment was the response of the IRA to Gerry Adam's comments at the start of the election campaign. This was what we were waiting for. Obviously what we would be asking Gerry Adams today was what was his assessment of where the republican movement was going.
Briefing took place at 17:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
EU Referendum
Asked what the principle was behind the idea that we should have our referendum either last, or almost last, and whether there was any truth to the idea that the Government thought it was a good ploy to be able to wait and say 24 other countries had signed up so we ought to sign up now the PMOS said that in terms of the timing of the referendum that was in part dictated by the time it took to take the matter through the House and have a proper debate on that in the House. It was also a relevant issue that we would hold not only the G8 Presidency but also the EU Presidency and that would inevitably consume quite some time. The important thing was that there should be a proper debate in the country as a whole and that was what we would allow.
Briefing took place at 17:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
ID Cards Bill
Asked about when the ID Cards Bill might be published, the PMOS said it did take a few days to decide the order and timetable of publications. The PMOS said he believed the Government hoped to reintroduce the bill as soon as possible in the manifesto, but he thought it better to wait and see.
Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (2)
EU Referendum
Asked if there were any circumstances with which the British Government would ratify the EU Constitution in any form except with a referendum for the British people, the PMOS said the Prime Minister had made it clear on several occasions that the British people would have their say and that remained the case. As for what happened if there were various different scenarios, following a French or a Dutch referendum, the PMOS said people would have to wait and see.
Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
Rebate
Asked what the Government's response was to the EU Commission's proposal to freeze the EU rebate, the PMOS replied that unless the journalist had heard something he hadn't, we had not yet received a proposal, so it was better to wait until one had been received.
Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
Cannabis
Asked if there might be a Government change of policy on cannabis, the PMOS said the experts were having a preliminary meeting this week, but it would take some time to produce their opinion. Therefore, we would wait for their judgement and take that into account.
Briefing took place at 9:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (15)
» Wednesday, May 18, 2005
EU Referendum
Put to him that what Douglas Alexander had said earlier today had seemed to mean that there would "definitely be" a referendum, which seemed slightly different to what he, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS), had been saying this morning, the PMOS said that as he had said this morning, the Prime Minister's words were on record. We did not, however, want in any way to get drawn into hypothetical questions about what happened if the French referendum went one way or the other. He said it would be better to wait and see and then deal with the result. The PMOS said equally what was a statement of the obvious, as he had also said this morning, was that the context of the other European countries' debate on the constitution would be influenced by the outcome of the votes in France and the Netherlands. He reiterated that the best thing was to wait and see, rather than get sucked into what was a lengthy process in another country.
Briefing took place at 17:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
EU Constitution Referenda
Asked to clarify whether the Government would go ahead with a referendum on the EU constitution if the French and Dutch people voted against it, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that we should not get into hypothetical questions. The Prime Minister has said that there would be a referendum on the EU constitution. The position remained unchanged. He wouldn't speculate about what happens if countries vote against rather than for, that was up to them. There were campaigns underway and it was a very wise convention that Government's didn't intervene in other countries electoral campaigns. Let us see what happened.
Briefing took place at 8:00 | Read whole briefing | Comments (0)
Original PMOS briefings are © Crown Copyright. Crown Copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen's Printer for Scotland. Click-use licence number C02W0004089. Material is reproduced from the original 10 Downing Street source, but may not be the most up-to-date version of the briefings, which might be revised at the original source. Users should check with the original source in case of revisions. Comments are © Copyright contributors. Everything else is © Copyright Downing Street Says.
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