Don't flame me from quoting the Sun, but they have a story today from a Tory MP, Graham Brady:
A SENIOR Tory yesterday raised the prospect of Britain quitting the EU under a future Conservative government.
Shadow Europe minister Graham Brady said we could not remain a member if the EU continued to block free trade with other countries.
He told a Westminster seminar: “Can Britain afford to remain in an EU that is pulling up the drawbridge? No we can’t.”
Of course this is baseless nonsense - the EU is of course a free trade zone of 450 million people, and has a large number of no-tariff and free-trade agreements with countries as far away as South Africa and Brazil, through the Preferred Partnership program and the Most Favoured Nation Program. This is in contrast to the USA, which still applies tariffs to NAFTA countries Canada and Mexico, (having made no progress eliminating them since Clinton left office). The EU's external tariffs for non MFN or PP countries, are also the lowest in the world.
Of course Mr Brady may not know this (Tories being notoriously bad at doing their homework - look how Alan Duncan was unaware of how many seats they had in Parliament). It's also likely that he is just casting round for an excuse to get Britain out of the EU.
It gives a clear picture of the bunker mentality of the Tory party. They wish to withdraw from the EU, they look to be abandoning Unionism and dealings with Scots and Welsh (whom they regard as second-class citizens) and moving towards the break-up of the UK. What's next, withdrawal from the north of England?
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An update. Eurobarometer is showing that the proportion of Brits thinking UK membership of the EU is a good idea has risen to 42% - the highest in 11 years.
Methinks the Tories have chosen the wrong moment to make take their Eurosceptic stance.
Europe is the one issue that has the potential to make the wheels come off the resurgent Tories. Since their leadership has boxed itself into a corner over all this ill-thought out EPP crap, it looks like turning into a running sore again a la the mid 90s, and with any like it will all blow up just in time to knobble their prospects in the next few years.
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