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		A seismic change The Guardian - June 7 2004 Euroscepticism is on the rise across the continent. A radical rethink of Tory policy must reflect this, writes Roger Helmer With only a couple of days to go to the election, it is clear that the United Kingdom Independence party will make gains that go far beyond anything we expected a couple of months ago. It also seems likely that in many regions, a majority of voters will cast their votes for Eurosceptic parties. This is an historic development, a seismic change. To quote Prescott's phrase, the tectonic plates are moving. Across the EU, Eurosceptic parties are on the march. All the established parties will have to reappraise their policies on the EU. Blair will have to abandon his hopes of joining the euro, or of ratifying the constitution. Even the Liberal Democrats may need to rethink their Euro-quisling stance. For the Tories, this is a wake-up call. The party leadership has been trying to bridge the gap between the old dinosaurs - Clarke and Heseltine - and the vast bulk of the members and activists. But in the effort to keep a few distinguished Europhiles on-side, we are letting party activists and the public slip away. Overwhelmingly, Conservatives want a relationship with the EU based on market access, free trade, voluntary intergovernmental cooperation - and nothing more. Over and over, they say: "In [the referendum of] 1975, we voted for a common market, not political union." We have to respond to this demand, or become irrelevant to the debate. It is not enough merely to reject the euro and the constitution and to repatriate the common fisheries policy. We need to disengage from the acquis communautaire across a broad front. We need to repeal the 1972 European Communities Act and the European convention on human rights. We need to commit ourselves clearly to the independence and self-determination of our country. Tony Blair will call this "withdrawal" - although I myself prefer Bill Cash's phrase "associate membership". But it doesn't matter what we call it. What matters is the substance, not the semantics. This is what the British people want. This is what the Conservative party must deliver. And of course only a party capable of forming a government in Westminster can deliver. Ukip, a mere fringe pressure group, can talk a good story, but can achieve nothing. That is why Eurosceptics, whatever their doubts, should vote Conservative, not Ukip, on Thursday.