As I write this, New Labour sweeps back into office in the UK general election. The Tories simply failed to make a sufficient impact on the electors. 

One of the main reasons for this is that over the past four weeks both the Liberal Democrat and the New Labour candidates managed successfully to persuade much of the public that William Hague and much of his party were racist. And they were largely able to get away with this appalling slur by hooking it on to the Tories' stand on asylum seekers and their reluctance to join the single European currency.

Unfortunately, the mud from the wild accusations of racism that are tossed into so many political discussions these days - simply in order to stymie any counter-arguments and deflect any opposition - tends to stick, particularly with the high percentage of voters who do not tend to dig too much further into the issues. And it is something that the Tories are going to have to learn to deal with effectively before they can gain more support from the populace. And they need to tackle this sort of thing head on.

One particularly interesting and encouraging result from the election did stand out and gives hope for the future course of politics in the UK. It was the superb and overwhelming victory of Dr Richard Taylor in the constituency of Wyre Forest over the standing New Labour MP.

The good doctor represented no political party at all, and he stood as a completely independent candidate. His ticket to success was mostly based on the demise of his local hospital which was not being helped by government policies, and he said that, if elected, he was determined that more would be done to support the National Health Service.

But what was particularly noteworthy was this. When Dr Taylor was giving his victory speech on the election platform, the audience listened in dutiful silence until he mentioned that he wanted to REDUCE GOVERNMENTAL INTERFERENCE into peoples' lives and at the local level. At this, the audience erupted into cheers and applause. 

He also made it clear that he was not only concerned with the current government but with the 'political system' as a whole, which he saw as overbearing and intrusive.

And this really must be heeded by the Tory Party because it supposedly stands for the very same thing! And this singular man who stood up against 'governmental interference' won an overwhelming majority of votes and thrashed the sitting New Labour MP!

As Phillip Oppenheim (an ex-Tory MP from many moons ago) has recently pointed out on several occasions, it is crucial that the Tories get across to the public that they stand for reducing government and for handing back more powers, and more money, to the people themselves. 

For example, it still hasn't got across to the majority of the public that the Tories' opposition to joining the single European currency has got absolutely nothing to do with xenophobia and everything to do with retaining the powers to govern one's own nation. But almost every time that these issues are aired, the Tories are either quickly accused of racism and xenophobia, or the constitutional issues are simply sidelined and the subject of further European integration is dealt with SOLELY in terms of the economy and the benefits that it might bring to some businesses. Indeed, it was only two weeks ago that Jeremy Paxman tried unsuccessfully to engage Labour's Roger Cook on this matter. He must have asked him at least eight times to comment on the constitutional questions that arose if more powers were handed over to Europe. And, on each occasion, Roger Cook refused to answer. He simply kept re-iterating his view that Europe would be of benefit to the ECONOMY and, hence, to the well-being of the nation. 

EIGHT TIMES Paxman failed to get a reply to his question!

Brits really do need to monitor very carefully how pro-European politicians simply refuse to deal with the constitutional issues that are raised by getting 'closer to Europe'. They will usually only talk about the economy. At best, they will argue that by being in Europe they can get 'stuck in' and win the arguments for Britain. What they never admit to is the fact that every time that they should lose ANY of the arguments that are raised in the interests of Britain, then Britain has lost on that particular issue, period! And this means, therefore, that the associated European policy that is finally implemented will NOT be in Britain's interest.

Brussels is not a football pitch where politicians can claim victory by having scored six goals against their opponents' four goals! In such an event, Britain will have actually lost out on four issues that will result in policies that are not in its national interest.

What is also NEVER mentioned is the fact that the European parliament and the massive bureaucracies that are associated with it generate highly handsome and particularly lucrative 'jobs for the boys'. Every politician, bureaucrat and lawyer has a vested interest in the European gravy train. And it is all paid for by the taxpayer. 

By refusing to debate the constitutional issues, the public (and particularly the young, who value their freedoms possibly more than most) are hoodwinked into believing that handing over further powers to a European parliament will not actually reduce their powers to govern themselves. And the Tories have failed significantly to educate the public with regard to the realities of this.

Indeed, it is left to the marginalised old Labour stalwarts like Tony Benn to warn the public about the impending loss of self-determination that getting closer to Europe will entail.

As he pointed out last night, the European currency is being foisted upon a large number of European countries in six months time, and yet NOT ONE of the countries whose currencies will be abolished has allowed its people to vote on the matter.

If the Tories are to make real progress in any forthcoming debates on this issue, they will have to make the public aware of how Europe will impinge upon the people's freedoms to govern themselves, and they have to tackle the issue of political correctness directly by demonstrating clearly to the public how morally bankrupt and intellectually subversive it is for the left to keep playing the race card in order to prevent a full and proper debate and in order to demonise their opponents.