Brexit is to thank for our renewed confidence in the world, from striking trade deals to assisting Ukraine
Source - Daily Telegraph - 14/12/22
There should now be little doubt that Brexit was the greatest victory for democracy in post-war British history. At a stroke the majority of voters repudiated the defeatism of their political and cultural elites and reclaimed their national sovereignty. Today, we no longer have to pay billions of pounds annually to unelected foreign bureaucrats to make up laws designed to ruin us.
Nor have we had to arrest people for preparing to overthrow the state, as in Germany. Our government does not face accusations of spying on opposition politicians, as in Greece. It does not have to worry about Hungary vetoing financial aid to Ukraine. Moreover, our Parliament has not seen the arrest of a senior member as part of a probe into corruption by a foreign state. Finally, we are not faced with wartime reparation demands of trillions of pounds, as Germany is by Poland and Greece, who seem deadly serious in pursuing their claims.
The reality is that if British membership of the EU, given our uniquely successful national history, was totally unnatural, the EU itself is also unnatural. Europe has always been a system of competing states whose economic, technological, commercial and intellectual rivalries spurred European progress.
Occasionally, of course, these rivalries would lead to war. But then coalitions would be formed to defeat whichever tyrant was threatening the European balance. And almost always these coalitions were spearheaded by Britain. Hence British independence, not European unity, preserved democracy in Europe.
Today Britain can once again resume that historic role. While France and Germany toy with appeasing Vladimir Putin, Britain gives a magnificent lead to Europe’s resistance to Russia and support for Ukraine. We are behaving like a leading, independent power again – making security treaties with Sweden and Finland, establishing the Aukus pact with Australia and the USA, and establishing free trade agreements all over the globe – many of them slimmed down versions of previous EU treaties – plus one with Japan that, despite partisan attacks, has seen trade increase, not decrease.
Outside the EU Britain has remained a stable democracy. There are no equivalents to be found here of the National Rally in France, the Alternative for Germany, the Brothers of Italy or the Sweden Democrats. Brexit Britain may have its problems but government or opposition led by extremist parties is not one of them. That, alas, does happen in Europe.
Of course, it is also the case that, mainly due to Covid lockdowns and the war in Ukraine, we face challenging economic problems. Yet our growth rate since 2016 has been comparable with that of Germany, inflation here is now lower than some of the EU’s leading economies, our interest rates are lower than those in the USA and Canada, and the City is still the dominant financial hub in Europe. The Stock Exchange, despite a flurry of misleading commentary, is still worth more than France’s Bourse.
And look at the constitutional situation: the Supreme Court has put Nicola Sturgeon firmly in her place, the SNP is fracturing and there is no obvious route to Scottish independence. The Union is not breaking up as Remainers predicted. There is even hope of a deal over the Northern Irish Protocol. Meanwhile Sir Keir Starmer, formerly an arch-Remainer, has accepted Brexit.
Thus, it is worth asking: who in their right mind would want to rejoin the EU now? There would be no economic benefits and the constitutional downside would be enormous. It would be akin to paying to enter a snake pit or a torture chamber.
Besides, the EU may not survive for much longer. It is still “a work in progress”, but without any progress. It lacks fiscal unity, armed forces, an effective foreign service, and accountability in government. It possesses a sclerotic parliament, a problematic currency and suffers from massive corruption if its Court of Auditors is to be believed.
As Bismarck said of Italy, the EU “has a large appetite but poor teeth”. We must not be afraid of its bite.
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