Sir Alan Duncan MP for Rutland and Melton lifelong Eurosceptic
is now voting to stay in.
Since voting “No” in the 1975 referendum I have spent 40 years wishing
we had never joined the EU. Nobody in the UK likes being told what to do by others.
The wish to restore the power to govern ourselves is a perfectly respectable argument,
and the rise of Ukip and the undimmable forces within the Conservative Party
who want to leave are testament to the enduring irritation many feel. For decades,
we have suffered from a post-imperial feeling of hurt pride.
Leaving the EU would weaken our influence over these massive issues,
and pulling up the drawbridge would protect us less from regional threats.
This is no time to withdraw from, and hence weaken, such an important
multilateral structure as the EU. Whereas I used to think that our membership
of the EU signified a loss of confidence in ourselves, I now think that leaving
it would be an unforgivable expression of no confidence in our ability to affect
the course of Europe’s future. We cannot shape that vision by looking in
history’s rear-view mirror and opting to retrench.
Sir Alan Duncan is the MP for Rutland and Melton
Click Here To Read Alan Duncan's Full Telegraph Article
is now voting to stay in.
Since voting “No” in the 1975 referendum I have spent 40 years wishing
we had never joined the EU. Nobody in the UK likes being told what to do by others.
The wish to restore the power to govern ourselves is a perfectly respectable argument,
and the rise of Ukip and the undimmable forces within the Conservative Party
who want to leave are testament to the enduring irritation many feel. For decades,
we have suffered from a post-imperial feeling of hurt pride.
Leaving the EU would weaken our influence over these massive issues,
and pulling up the drawbridge would protect us less from regional threats.
This is no time to withdraw from, and hence weaken, such an important
multilateral structure as the EU. Whereas I used to think that our membership
of the EU signified a loss of confidence in ourselves, I now think that leaving
it would be an unforgivable expression of no confidence in our ability to affect
the course of Europe’s future. We cannot shape that vision by looking in
history’s rear-view mirror and opting to retrench.
Sir Alan Duncan is the MP for Rutland and Melton
Click Here To Read Alan Duncan's Full Telegraph Article
