
These wise words were uttered by Winston Churchill, and they should perhaps be remembered by those who fail to see the bigger picture regarding our relationship now and in the future with Europe.
Many of the politicians who have now decided to support the Vote Leave campaign, some friends of David Cameron, had previously said that they would be prepared to remain in a Reformed Europe. And they trusted him to stand firm and demand major reforms. They believed he should deliver the restoration of the Sovereignty of the British Parliament and its powers to govern. The ability to control our borders, and a better deal on migrant benefits, among other things.
The deal the Prime Minister achieved fell well short of what he promised. It is astonishing that having said he would not rule out supporting a vote to exit the EU if he failed to deliver, he is now determined to persuade the British public that whatever the package, to leave is not an option.
So far there has been nothing that the Vote Stay has ‘threatened’ us with that would persuade me and many others to tick that box. As a livestock and arable farmer running a small business, a landlord of both residential and commercial properties, and as a parent looking to my children and grandchildren’s futures, and that of the United Kingdom, I want to ensure that we as a nation are in control of that future. Current EU rules make it impossible for research and development into GM to benefit British farmers by cutting costs, improving profitability and growing crops which will not require so much of the diminishing supplies of costly fertiliser and sprays. And how can we secure the jobs and growth that we need when vital contracts for the work go to preferred bidders on the continent and not to British firms?
The real leap in the dark is to find that on 24th June our great nation is permanently tied into the European State. Those who believe that the European Union will remain as it is today are naïve. Once the Europeans have, thanks to David Cameron, locked the UK in, things will change. The leap will be into a dark hole out of which we cannot escape. The federalists will rise up, they will produce more legislation, the terms of membership will change, the power of Brussels will become greater, and the floodgates will open regarding migration.
Of course other EU leaders want the UK to remain, Great Britain was their greatest catch. They need us but it is certain that we do not need them.
The days of the Common Market and the Treaty of Rome are long gone. It is now about the power of a few over the many. It is about control, and shifting people of different cultures, languages and religions through open borders in a vain attempt to create a European utopia. Which will never happen.
Brexit will not affect people’s jobs or living standards as the Chancellor George Osborne has threatened. What will affect jobs and living standards is the Chancellors inability to reduce the national debt, which has doubled since 2010.
Britain has for over two decades steadily increased its trade with non-European countries; so also has France and Germany. The USA is now Germany’s largest trading partner, and Europe as a trading group is stagnating and falling behind the rest of the world.
From October 2016 Turkey will be granted Visa Free Travel to the EU. A population of 75 Million Muslim Turks will be able to come to Europe, no questions asked. No wonder David Cameron is so keen to rush the referendum through rather than wait until 2017. This development will certainly not help our security if we remain in the EU.
What Mr Cameron failed to do was take back real control from the unelected and unaccountable European Commission. As a democracy our politicians must be accountable to the people, and if they fail to deliver we can vote them out. And as Labour MP Kate Hoey said, ‘If we vote to leave, we can stop being Little Europeans and become Internationalists once again’.