Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-12-13-Speech-2-028-000"
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"en.20111213.5.2-028-000"2
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"Mr President, I have often asked myself the question: why would a successful country that has enjoyed a thousand years of independence give up its right of self-government to the unelected nonentities that we see sitting before us this morning? The answer that comes back from the Foreign Office and the great and the good is that we must have influence in Europe. We must have a seat at the top table and we can change things. We have done our best to prove what good Europeans we are. We go on paying you GBP 50 million a day. We have helped the euro bailout fund, even though we did not join the currency, thank goodness. We have given you 80% of the fish stocks that swim in our waters – your fleets can come and take that from us – and we have applied every directive you have given us absolutely to the letter, all of it to gain influence. In fact, Nick Clegg is so deluded he still thinks we can take the lead in Europe.
When a British Prime Minister goes to a summit with a very modest proposal to protect a uniquely important British industry, a snarling President Sarkozy tells him where to go, with German approval of course, and we find ourselves without a friend in the room. Some influence! Well you have decided to head off on the Titanic towards economic and democratic disaster, and we are now in a lifeboat outside the Titanic, but we are threatened by a bow wave that is going to come and engulf us if we are not careful – and it is retribution. We have heard the language of retribution this morning. Financial markets legislation is going to be imposed upon Britain and we will have no influence whatsoever over any of it.
Something changed though on Friday. Mr Cameron may not know it, but we are now on course: Britain is going to make the great escape. We are going to get out of this Union. We will be the first European country to get our freedom back. I suspect many others will follow, and then what we will have is our democracy back, our liberty back, and we will have influence in the world as you lot head for disaster. It is going to happen."@en1
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