1/8: David Frost’s Brussels speech was an intelligent exposition of his view on the EU & an important explanation of #Brexit thinking in the new UK government: asserting the indivisible #sovereignty of the European nation state & the primacy of political identity over the market.
2/8: But, rooted in the 18th century thought of Edmund #Burke (ironically Irish), his argument bypassed the tragic history of how these independent & “revered” nation states behaved towards each other in the 20th century. And the low confidence in today’s national governments.
3/8: Many of us who take a more favourable view of the #EU recognise the overreach & democratic distance of its institutions. But surveying history, today’s world & the scale of European nations, we believe close, structured collaboration between them remains essential.
4/8: There’s a legitimate debate about how far the UK ever really fitted in, especially once the #Euro was created. We may differ on where the balance lies. But David & others in his camp understate the political, social & economic benefits the UK has gained from EU membership.
5/8: We also need to examine the alternatives. For all its confident assertion, the speech did not convince on how the “independent” UK will preserve & enhance sovereignty in the geopolitical context ahead, when it will be tested by forces stronger & more aggressive than the EU.
7/8: Frost’s speech confirms the government is pursuing a hard version of separation from the EU. There is no popular mandate for this particular approach, either from 2016 or 2019. We need more clarity on how the government & its negotiators will be held to account from here on.
8/8: The government last year invoked the “will of the people” against #Parliament. It seems unlikely to achieve the Burkean state of “reverence” David aspires to if it now uses its disproportionate majority in Parliament to dismiss the concerns of half the nation.
