This shows how deep the gulf is between British *remainer* opinion and the EU. Thread. 1/
It may be theology to you, but an unrenouceable principle to them (cf: Henry VIII, being able to divorce one's wife was "theology") 2/
The crucial point is this: the EU is a political organisation created to prevent another European war, by removing the reasons to have one through political and economic integration. 3/
Two things follow from this: (a) EU citizens are supposed to have the same rights wherever they go in the Union, and have since the beginning, the right to move around to pursue their lives
(b) All member states are entitled to the same status. 4/
(b) All member states are entitled to the same status. 4/
Opt outs were grudgingly conceded because the UK was big, but on the understanding that though the UK wanted them, the rest thought it an inferior status 5/
But what Britain considers an opt-out from freedom of movement, the rest consider Britain failing to live up to its obligations to treat other people equally 6/
Not just any other people, but their own citizens! 7/
The holy trinity @Andrew_Adonis is part of the essence of Christianity, and the four freedoms are part of the essence of the European project. 8/
But the prohibition on divorce is the better religious analogy, because it's accompanied by power politics. 9/
Britain (and the British anti-immigration Right) led a movement to disrupt (sorry, "reform" ) the EU and change it into a club of traditionally sovereign states. 10/
doing this on immigration poses a mortal threat to European integration.
It summoned up the "caged beasts" of nationalism and ethnic exclusivity, as we've seen since the 2016 vote 11/
It summoned up the "caged beasts" of nationalism and ethnic exclusivity, as we've seen since the 2016 vote 11/
And it sets up a division between certain states in the north and west of the EU, and those in the south and east 12/
Being able to move around Europe isn't just one of the major benefits citizens of Europe's poorer countries get, it's a potent symbol of their equal status as members. 13/
They don't want to be second-class Europeans, and if they are made second class Europeans support for Europe there would - understandably enough - evaporate. 14/
That was why the EU couldn't give Cameron what he wanted in his renegotiation: what he was asking for could have destroyed the institution from within 15/
They see what Adonis (and @nick_clegg and others want) as something that would destroy it from without instead 16/
They don't want Sweden, or the Netherlands (say) to start talking about a "British option" 17/
What Adonis and others want is a deal to protect the British economy from the British people's decision, at the expense of the long run future of the EU. 18/
That's why Spain France and Germany are publicly against. Just as granting an annulment to Henry VIII wouldn't just have broken the theological rules, but also infuriated the Holy Roman Empire, this isn't just theology - it's power politics. ENDS
