On February 25th 2016 Julian Sturdy MP for York Outer gave us all the benefit of his wisdom and declared his position on the EU referendum (HERE). He tried to make it sound a bit like the Gettysburg address although it turned out a little more prosaic than Lincoln's in 1863. In it (Julian's address that is, not Lincoln's) he said, "My central concern and frustration with the EU and the European project is how it has grown into a political union far removed from the Common Market we joined in 1973".
Mr Sturdy was four years old at the time of the first referendum in 1975 but obviously a veritable child prodigy eagerly devouring all the information he could lay his tiny hands on, rushing to the door each morning to grab the newspapers for all the details of the furious debate that was raging about Britain joining The European Economic Community. This leaflet (HERE) setting out the government's case and deviously sent to every household, except the Sturdy's apparently, must have escaped his attention. It makes clear on page 5 that trade was only one issue and not even the most important. The first aim was to bring together the people of Europe and the second to raise living standards and improve working conditions. Trade is third. Of course, we now know from his voting record that living standards (apart from his own that is - see HERE) and working conditions don't bother him.
And in his eagerness to see only the economic arguments he clearly missed the many references to political Union including in The Sun on the day of the referendum which warned against pulling out of “the circle of unity”, calling on people to vote not just for increasing trade, but “YES — FOR A FUTURE TOGETHER”. It added “We cannot afford to be half-hearted about Europe”.
And in his eagerness to see only the economic arguments he clearly missed the many references to political Union including in The Sun on the day of the referendum which warned against pulling out of “the circle of unity”, calling on people to vote not just for increasing trade, but “YES — FOR A FUTURE TOGETHER”. It added “We cannot afford to be half-hearted about Europe”.
In another piece, it declared: “We are all Europeans now”! You can see it all HERE
Julian Sturdy may believe the EU, as the EEC has now become, is too political and that is his right but please don't tell us that we were misled in 1975 because we were not. I voted in 1975 not just for a Common Market but also for political union too. Let us remember Spain and Portugal were both dictatorships, now transformed into modern, liberal democracies and eastern Europe was under the yoke of communism. It is the politics that has changed Europe for the better, not just trade.
