There is an article in The Spectator (HERE) by a historian nobody has ever heard of named Robert Tombs claiming that Brexit is a sign we are on the right side of history. He could hardly be more wrong with his idea that the nation state is the future rather than the past.
It's full of contradictions. At one point he says we instinctively trust people like ourselves rather than foreigners to govern us, and then telling us how disastrous in blood and treasure the Iraq war was even though he supported it at the time because he trusted Blair! Amazing.
And he believes we can deal with "modern" problems by national rather than supra national organisations. Not sure how he proposes that we should solve environmental and climate change issues on our own. He goes on:
We have been fortunate in our history. For many centuries, Britain has been among the richest, safest and best-governed places in which to live. Most of us alive today have enjoyed unprecedented peace and prosperity.
He clearly doesn't remember the two world wars we were heavily involved in or the massive decline in our relative prosperity since the late 1940s as Europe outperformed us in virtually every field. Even the very foundation of the EU as a peace promoting project is ignored.
And the final paragraph is surely intended as a joke. He talks of "enhancing our solidarity" as a multinational nation and working with "like minded countries while maintaining democratic sovereignty". Quite apart from the fact that Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to remain and there is the risk of the UK breaking up, his words could describe the EU to a tee. Multinational and working together, what could be wrong with that?
Nothing apparently - unless that is you are not top dog and don't get your own way all the time. I wonder if we will ever understand the Brexiteer mind?
