The day the lunatics took over the running of the asylum

AS a child in 1940 I slept under the stairs during the blitz on London.

We were issued with gas masks and given instructions as to what do in the event of an air raid when away from home.

We suffered all the indignities that went with war, including later evacuation when the VI’s and V2’s began raining down on us. My childhood playground was the building sites of South London.

During that period of our history we all pulled together as one nation against a common foe.

I later served in the Rhine army before embarking on another career during which I spent almost 30 years protecting the citizens of London in order they may sleep peacefully in their beds.

For these reasons I consider I have the right to a voice, although I have been banished from the Kingdom by my loss of national suffrage. My wife is a German national and ironically retains the right to vote in her homeland for life, provided she resides within the EU.

The past 66 years represents the longest period in our recorded history of peace in Western Europe and whatever the cost of the EU, the peace and prosperity which has arisen from the ashes of WWII has been worth every penny. Several decades ago we saw the emergence of the ‘loony’ left in Britain.

Now we are witnessing the emergence of the ‘loony’ right. The loony left brought about the downfall of the ‘old’ labour Party. We then saw the emergence of New Labour and all that was nasty about that regime with its spin, sleaze and lies. New Labour decided they no longer wanted Tony Blair.

Meanwhile the insufferable Gordon Brown sold of the family silver (gold), your gold at a giveaway price. Then came the exposure of the expenses scandal where many Members of our sacred Parliament were found with their sticky fingers inside the cookie jar, even worse many believed they had the right to steal the taxpayer’s money and complained about being found out.

We also saw the Speaker of that place being dragged screaming from his chair.

The country decided it had had enough, but was undecided as to who are what party were worthy of election. The people decided that no party could be entrusted with government and we ended up with a fragile coalition, with each party betraying their promises to the people.

Friday 9th December 2011 will, in all probability, go down in history as not only the blackest day for the UK since WWII, it was also a betrayal of our greatest statesman, the late Sir Winston S. Churchill, who wrote to the British War Cabinet in October 1942, “Hard as it is now to say, I trust that the European family may act unitedly as one under a Council of Europe.

I look forward to a United States of Europe.” Whatever meaning is placed on that statement, a Congress of Europe, which included 16 countries, was organised at The Hague in May 1948 and the President of Honour was Sir W. Churchill.

Thus the European Movement was formed. Following that meeting a statement was issued, “We desire a united Europe through whose area the free movement of persons, ideas and goods is restored.”

This was the opening sentence of the Treaty of Rome. The world is currently in economic crises and the very institution of the EU is under threat and yet It is now becoming clear that David Cameron had played to both the ill informed electorate and the loony right of his party and that he had absolutely no intention of signing up to any deal to save the Euro or the EU, despite the fact that if the Euro goes under the economic impact will be felt all around the globe, not least by GB.

Cameron also played into the hands of the BNP who must now be rubbing their hands with Glee. The functioning of the EU is far from perfect and I spend a great deal of my time in discussion with Brussels, but it would be far better to work for improvement, especially a more democratic style of reform, rather than to destroy this most worthy concept of a family of nations working together, in the best interests of self, but the interests of all Union citizens.

What will they now do with that statue which stares across at them from Parliament Square?

By David R. Burrage, British Expats Association (Spain)