Tuesday 21 October 2014

Conservative Mainstream, Indeed

"Clear off to UKIP," says Ken Clarke.

"Why were you ever in the Conservative Party," say I?

Was it in order to get the Accession legislation through, in 1972? Was in order it to prevent a referendum, not once, but twice, in 1974?

Was it in order to campaign for a Yes vote, in 1975? Was it in order to campaign to stay in, in 1983, the second referendum on membership?

Was it for the free movement of goods, services capital and people negotiated and enacted by Margaret Thatcher in the teeth of unanimous Labour opposition?

Was it to keep the pro-euro Clarke as Chancellor of the Exchequer, rather than replace him with the anti-euro Gordon Brown, in 1997? That was the single currency referendum, in which I, for one, voted to save the pound. Did you?

Then why, exactly? Why did you ever even so much as join the Conservative Party? Why?

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