Shropshire Star

No time for crowing, we’re all drowning in a sea of debt

Forty-four years ago we joined the Common Market under Ted Heath, two years later in 1975 we were given a referendum, and under Harold Wilson we voted to stay in.

Published

This jollied along first Harold Wilson, and Jim Callaghan.In 1979 Maggie came into power, she demanded and received a big rebate on our payments scheme.

John Major dealt us a poor deal under the Maastricht Treaty, this was when we should have had a referendum. This was the biggest nail in our coffin, but not for the final one, it was Tony Blair’s final nail of the century “But oh what a tangled web we’ve weaved. At first we’re duped, and then deceived.” Peter Rhodes said in his column that we should be swimming in the oceans, rather than stagnant little pools.

I can’t see us swimming in big oceans again, when we’re not even the biggest fish in stagnant pools. I can see us becalmed and stranded in the doldrums and see us sinking in a sea of debt and unemployment for years to come, and no one willing or able to bail us out.

Democracy has spoken, and with that in mind we have to endorse it. But on this one issue of voting, I worry that we might be held out to dry on the high altar of democracy after 45 years entwined and interlocked. I can’t see us getting a better deal than we currently have, our team led by Theresa May is as good as it gets, and even if our team was led by King Solomon, Henry Kissinger, Noel Edmunds, and Donald Duck as the trump card, we still would not get a good deal.

Peter Rhodes is always crowing about how good it will be when we’re out of Europe, but if I were him I would leave the crowing to one that does it so much better, a Rhode Island Red.

E W Stanworth, Pontesbury

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