Robert Oulds

Looking back over the 30 years since Britain joined the European Union (the anniversary is 1st January 2003) it is clear that membership has undermined our democracy and resulted in numerous economic problems.

From fishing to agriculture, from small businesses being over-regulated to the disaster of the ERM and the billions that our Government hands over each year to the EU coffers as the price of Britain’s membership it is clear that the European dream is of no benefit.

It would have been better if we had never joined.

With the collapse of Communism, Europe had the chance to develop as a network of freely trading independent nation states. The EU did not embrace that opportunity to reform. Now with the Convention on the Future of Europe we hope that the European project will turn about and reverse the centralist path. The alternative is that Britain must withdraw.

The Convention is the EU’s last chance to rectify its headlong rush towards integration, otherwise the project will ultimately end in tears.

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– NOTES TO EDITORS –
On the 1st January 1973 the United Kingdom joined the EEC (Common Market) which later became the EC and then the EU.