Douglas Carswell's Blog

The dangerous Europhile fringe

Here is a picture of Michael Heseltine, the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair, and Ken Clarke, at the 1999 launch of the campaign to get Britain to join the Euro.

They thought the Euro would be a success - and they wanted Britain to join, too.

They were not alone. The Financial Times and the Economist have spent years trying to convince us that the Euro would mean prosperity.  So has the BBC.  The Whitehall mandarinate felt we ought to sign up, too.

So why did Britain stay outside the Euro?  Thanks to Jimmy Goldsmith, and a handful of others, first the Conservatives and then Labour had to conceed holding a referendum before we could join. That meant the Europhile elite never quite dared do it.

It was fear of a "no" vote in a referendum that kept Britain out of the Euro, and saved us from the consequences of the Europhiles' appalling judgement.

Imagine where we would be if Ken and co had got their way, and Britain today shared a common currency with Greece?   

There is nothing extreme or nationalistic about wanting a referendum as a safeguard against a dangerous, Europhile fringe.

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