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Daniel Hannan

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Daniel Hannan
MEP
Member of the European Parliament
for South East England
Incumbent
Assumed office
June 1999
Personal details
Born (1971-09-01) 1 September 1971 (age 53)
Lima, Peru
NationalityBritish
Political partyConservative
Alma materMarlborough College
Oriel College, Oxford
Websitewww.hannan.co.uk
(The picture above is courtesy of the Mises Youth Club)

Daniel John Hannan (born 1 September 1971, in Lima, Peru)[1] is a British politician, and Member of the European Parliament (MEP), representing South East England for the Conservative Party. In the Parliament, he currently sits as an independent, having previously been a member of EPP-ED, the group of the European People's Party.

Hannan presently serves on the Committee on Fisheries and the Delegation for Relations with Afghanistan.[1]

Hannan is also a journalist, writing leaders and a blog for the The Daily Telegraph.

Early life

Hannan was born into a British Peruvian family in Lima. He was educated at Marlborough College and Oriel College, Oxford, where he studied Modern History.[2] He was President of the Oxford University Conservative Association, and also became involved in the Bruges Group. He speaks French and Spanish.[3]

Afterwards, he became director of the European Research Group, a study group at the University of Oxford. He also worked as a speechwriter for Michael Howard and William Hague before moving to The Daily Telegraph.[4]

Member of the European Parliament

Daniel Hannan was first elected to the European Parliament in 1999, and was re-elected at the top of his party's list for the South East England constituency in 2004. In April 2008, Daniel Hannan was elected to the top position of the Conservative list for the 2009 European elections in the constituency of South East England, making it almost certain that he will be re-elected to the Parliament in 2009.

Campaign against the Lisbon Treaty

He opposed ratification of the Lisbon Treaty in the European Parliament, and was one of several MEPs who were prevented from speaking in support of a referendum. In mimicry of Cato the Elder's Carthago delenda est, he ended every speech, whatever its subject, with a call for the Lisbon Treaty to be put to the vote: "Pactio Olisipiensis censenda est".[5][6]

Expulsion from the EPP-ED

This show of opposition to the treaty by several MEPs caused annoyance to some members of the European Parliament, which voted to give its president the discretion to override parliamentary procedures [7]. In the parliamentary session just before the new rules were to be presented by the President of the European Parliament [citation needed] Hans-Gert Pöttering[citation needed], Hannan stated [8]:

An absolute majority is not the same as the rule of law. I accept that there is a minority in this house in favor of a referendum. That there is a minority in this house against the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty. But this house must nonetheless follow its own rulebooks. And by popular acclamation to discard the rules under which we operate is indeed an act of arbitrary and despotic rule. It is only my regard for you Mr. Chairman and my personal affection for you that prevents me from likening it to the Ermächtigungsgesetz of 1933 which was also voted through by a parliamentary majority.

He continued by quoting Edmund Burke, but was interrupted mid-quote and cut off by Luigi Cocilovo, one of the 14 Vice-Presidents.[9]

Pöttering is a German national and a member of the same political group (EPP-ED) as Hannan. The head of EPP-ED, Joseph Daul, responded by initiating proceedings to expel Hannan immediately. Daniel Hannan left the EPP-ED on 19 February 2008. He now sits as a Conservative without pan-European affiliation (Non-Inscrit).

"The devalued Prime Minister of a devalued Government"

On 24 March 2009, after Gordon Brown had given a short speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg in advance of the G20 London summit, Hannan followed up by delivering a 3-minute speech criticising in very strong terms the response by Gordon Brown to the global financial crisis.[10] He finished the speech:

You cannot spend your way out of a recession or borrow your way out of debt. And when you repeat, in that wooden and perfunctory way, that our situation is better than others, that we are well placed to weather the storm, I have to tell you, you sound like a Brezhnev era apparatchik giving the party line. You know and we know and you know that we know that it's nonsense. Everyone knows that Britain is worse off than any other country as we go into these hard times. The IMF has said so. The European Commission has said so. The markets say so, which is why the pound has lost a third of its value. In a few months, the voters will have their chance to say so, too. They can see what the markets have seen: that you are the devalued Prime Minister of a devalued Government.[11]

A video clip of the speech went viral on YouTube that evening,[12][13] attracting more than 630,000 views in 24 hours.[10][14] It became the 'most viewed today' YouTube video worldwide two consecutive days.[14] Hannan appeared on the United States prime time television program Hannity via video link at 9pm EST on the same day[15], and on the Glenn Beck Program the following day.[16][17] He also also appeared on Your World with Neil Cavuto, where he stated he would have voted for Ron Paul if he could.[18] However, interest from British television channels, particularly the BBC and ITV, was much more limited, leading to criticism, with Nigel Evans contrasting their disregard of the video with YouTube as the 'ultimate in public service broadcasting'.[19]

Praise for Iceland's economic miracle

Hannan has been a regular visitor to Iceland for 15 years. He has written that he spent his stag night there to celebrate its refusal to join the European Union, and has declared Icelanders to be the sturdiest and most self-reliant people he knows. Hannan's critics have pointed to his extravagant praise for Iceland's economic miracle prior to the 2008 crash, in which he advocated that other countries should emulate the Icelandic model of minimal national and international regulation as their model. In an October 2004 piece for the Spectator, entitled Blue-Eyed Shiekhs, Hannan wrote "I have watched an economic miracle unfold ... Today, Icelanders are absolutely rolling in it. A people two generations away from subsistence farming have become international tycoons. ... Being outside the EU, Iceland has been able to cut taxes and regulation, and to open up its economy. For 70 years the Althing has been dominated by the splendidly named Independence party, which has pursued the kind of Thatcherite agenda that is off limits to EU members ... Icelanders have no more desire to submit to international than to national regulation. That attitude has made them the happiest, freest and wealthiest people on earth. Long may they remain so". [20] [21]

Hannan has responded to Iceland's crisis by writing that the country "would be mad to join the EU". [22]

NHS controversy

In April 2009 he caused controversy, which led to calls for the leader of the Conservative Party David Cameron to distance himself from his claims that the NHS had been a "mistake for 60 years" a position he refused to back down on by, stating that "People can see for themselves that Britain has become a place where foreigners fear to fall ill. Yes, all three parties are committed to the NHS: I am a humble backbencher, and speak only for myself. But I wonder whether, as on tax and borrowing, public opinion hasn't overtaken the Westminster consensus."[23]

Publications

Daniel Hannan has been a leader writer for the Daily Telegraph since 1996.[24] He has also written for various other newspapers, including The Wall Street Journal, the German daily Die Welt, the Swiss weekly Weltwoche, The Sunday Telegraph, The Catholic Herald, Freedom Today, the Brussels Journal and The Spectator.

He is the author of Time for a Fresh Start in Europe (1993) A Guide to the Amsterdam Treaty (1997), The Euro: Bad for Business (1998), The Challenge of the East (1999), What if Britain Votes No? (2002) and The Case for EFTA (2004), and contributed to Treason at Maastricht (1994), by Rodney Atkinson and Norris McWhirter, which cited the conspiracy theorist Christopher Story and claimed that the EU was founded by Nazis and the Bilderberg Group.[25]

He was the co-founder of Direct Democracy and co-author, along with 27 Conservative MPs elected in 2005, of Direct Democracy: An Agenda for a New Model Party, which proposes the wholesale devolution of power and the direct election of decision-makers. These ideas were developed further in a series of six pamphlets, The Localist Papers, serialised in The Daily Telegraph in 2007. In 2008, he published the book The Plan: Twelve Months to Renew Britain together with Douglas Carswell.

References

Template:Reflist-2

  1. ^ a b "Daniel Hannan". European Parliament. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
  2. ^ http://en-gb.facebook.com/pages/Dan-Hannan/8442497905
  3. ^ http://www.ashfordconservatives.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16&Itemid=30
  4. ^ Daniel Hannan's profile on MiCandidate.eu
  5. ^ Hannan, Daniel (17 January 2008). "EU treaty censored by Euro-federalists". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-03-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  6. ^ European Parliament debates, 30 January 2008: Daniel Hannan
  7. ^ http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/daniel_hannan/blog/2008/01/25/despotism_in_the_european_parliament
  8. ^ [1]
  9. ^ "Debates - [[31 January]] [[2008]]". European Parliament. 8 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  10. ^ a b DanHannanMEP (2009-03-24). "Daniel Hannan MEP: The devalued Prime Minister of a devalued Government". YouTube. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
  11. ^ "Daniel Hannan MEP: Watch the tirade against Gordon Brown that's become a huge hit on YouTube". Daily Mail. 27 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
  12. ^ Martin, Iian (2009-03-25). "Hurrah for Hannan: Brown hasn't been spoken to like that for decades". Daily Telegraph.
  13. ^ Bingham, John (2009-03-25). "MEP Dan Hannan's 'Brezhnev apparatchik' attack on Gordon Brown is a YouTube hit". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
  14. ^ a b "An internet sensation, the Tory who told Brown to his face that he's a disaster". Daily Mail. 2009-03-27. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
  15. ^ "Outcry Against U.S. Budget Heard Around Globe". Fox News. 2009-03-27. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
  16. ^ "Daniel Hannan". Gather. 2009-03-26. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
  17. ^ DanHannanMEP (2009-03-25). "Daniel Hannan MEP appears on Glenn Beck". YouTube. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
  18. ^ DanHannanMEP (2009-03-27). "Daniel Hannan MEP appears on Your World with Neil Cavuto: Part 1/2". YouTube. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  19. ^ John, Bingham (27 March 2009). "Questions for BBC and ITV over Daniel Hannan speech coverage". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 6 April 2009. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  20. ^ http://www.spectator.co.uk/print/the-magazine/cartoons/12658/blueeyed-sheikhs.thtml
  21. ^ http://www.nextleft.org/2008/10/dan-hannans-icelandic-utopia.html
  22. ^ http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/daniel_hannan/blog/2008/10/08/iceland_would_be_mad_to_join_the_eu
  23. ^ http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23672905-details/%27Nasty+Tories%27+beat+retreat+on+hunting+and+spending+cuts/article.do
  24. ^ Who's Who. London: A & C Black. 2007. ISBN 978-0-7136-7527-6. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  25. ^ Treason at Maastricht: Destruction of the Nation State. Compuprint Publishing. 1994. ISBN 0 9509353 9 5. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
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