Festering effects of Euroism
June 5th, 1992
A letter to the Editor of the Daily Telegraph which was published on 5th June 1992.
While those few of us who have fought for years against the loss of British self-government to the EC welcome all converts to our cause, it is a pity that the majority of those 100 or so Tory MPs signing the motion welcoming Denmark’s decision to veto the Maastricht Treaty did not find the courage to vote aginst the second reading of the Maastricht Bill last week.
The Prime Minister’s absurd decision to press on with ratification is additional evidence, if any were needed, that Euroism is more to do with politicians’ job opportunities than those of our young people, 800,000 of whom are out of work.
Europe, in fact, has become both the reason and the excuse for doing nothing about the related and endemic problems of unemployment, the shrinkage of our manufacturing industry and our mounting trade deficit.
To solve these problems needs, among other things, heavy concentration on those markets of the world which are growing rapidly – and these happen to be mainly on the Pacific rim where the majority of the world’s manufacturing capacity is situated.
This is not to neglect European markets, but to recognise that the major expansion of Britain’s trade there has already taken place. The fastest rate of expansion of British exports to a major economy in the last few years has, in fact, been to Japan.
Such a refocusing of Britain’s priorities should include the Commonwealth. Here Britain, with its unique ties of kinship and history, has an opportunity to influence that important section of the Third World which we know most about towards an effective relationship with the First – the necessity of which the Rio Conference demonstrates.