Alexis Tsipras, leftist leader of Greece’s Syriza party, threatens…

“If they proceed with unilateral action on their side, in other words they cut off our funding, then we will be forced to stop paying our creditors, to go to a suspension in payments to our creditors.”

As Euro falls President Barroso tells the UN in New York…

“I bring you a message of confidence.” 

In a further sign of Ed’s position shifting on this game changer, his newly appointed policy coordinator backs an In/Out referendum:

A party would never promise a referendum and then change their minds, right?

As Guido recommended last year, Labour could play a blinder if they outflank the Tories on the issue of an EU referendum. It appears there could be some movement:

It might be right to have a wider referendum on uk membership of eu, but not now – ed balls.—
Patrick Wintour (@patrickwintour) May 14, 2012

If Dave does end up on the wrong side of history here, he only has himself to blame…

The Eurozone political class are desperate to keep the show on the road and admittedly they have managed to do so for longer than many, including Guido, expected. Nothing has so far stopped them in their determination; not economic logic, democratic votes nor civil unrest.

Today Eurozone governments are sending €4.2 billion to Greece to enable it to repay the European Central Bank €3.3 billion for bonds maturing a week on Friday. They are repaying themselves with their own coin.

The Greeks will never repay all the loans, they mostly voted for parties who explicitly reject the bailout deal because the voters realise it is not Greece that is being bailed out. The European banking system and the banks that lent money to Greece is being bailed out. The sooner Greece exits the euro the sooner the money-go-round ends and reality hits the Eurozone.

“We’re celebrating the wrong day…”

The Cameroons believe down to their DNA that a governing majority is to be found at the centre of politics.  Last night where UKIP stood they polled 14% on average, the BBC calculating that for every 10% UKIP polls, the Tories lose 5% of their support. UKIP is clearly gaining traction as more than just a Euro-election voting option. The Cameroons kid themselves that they can be more credibly centrist and win more votes from the centre party without losing their right-of-centre base.

Last night Baroness Warsi smeared UKIP by associating them with the BNP. Their own activists don’t believe it, it is noticeable just how many activists the Conservative youth and students wings are haemorrhaging to UKIP.  This decade long splintering of the right-of-centre vote is madness, a huge opportunity for sanity is opening up ahead of the next election, one which it seems even Lord Mandelson is willing to embrace. He has briefed The Sun this morning:

“I believe a referendum on this will be necessary because parties can’t reconcile their own differences and come to a final conclusion. A referendum would be a healthy means of re-establishing a consensus among Britons about Britain’s place in the world and role Europe should play in that.”

An In/Out referendum is a chance to settle the Europe question for generations and re-unite the right-of-centre majority in Britain. UKIP and the Tories would be campaigning on the same platform. Farage and most of UKIP would in those circumstances come back into the fold, the Conservatives would then have their best shot at winning a majority in decades. Before the 2015 general election David Cameron needs once more to make a  ”big, open, comprehensive offer” and secure his place in history by winning an In/Out referendum. Nigel Farage doesn’t want to be in Brussels a day longer than he has to be, it is time to bring him home…

In a Telegraph interview the drippingly wet Greg Barker when asked about the need for a change of direction following a poll giving UKIP 11% support and surveys showing 10% of Tory voters from 2010 have switched to UKIP retorted:

“We don’t need to follow UKIP into swivel-eyed rhetoric.”

As ConservativeHome notes, that is hardly the way to win back lost supporters. What struck Guido most was that Greg Barker, a screaming climate change racket fanatic, is really on dodgy ground with that line. Look into his eyes…

UPDATE: Within a minute of publishing Greg Barker sportingly tweets:

@GuidoFawkes even I have to smile at that one!—
Greg Barker (@GregBarkerMP) April 14, 2012

Looks like one important sector of Irish commercial life is preparing for a post-€uro future if this pub sign in Duncannon, Wexford, is anything to go by. Cheers..

EU Foreign Minister and national embarrassment Cathy Ashton is in hot water this morning after equating yesterday’s tragic murders at a Jewish school in Toulouse with “what is happening in Gaza.” The Israeli Foreign Minister, Defence Minister and Leader of the Opposition have all called for her to retract the statement or to resign, and quite justifiably so. If she is sacked she could always get a column on the Guardian…