New UK Conservative candidate and Olympic rowing champion: "Us vs Them (the UK vs the EU)
What is Cracknell’s opinion of British membership of the EU, and David Cameron’s promise of a referendum on that membership if the Conservatives win the next general election, then?
“If, after negotiations, nothing has changed, Cameron will come out,” he says. “There are so many things that need changing. There is too much red tape for small businesses, not enough emphasis on innovation. For every £1 we have saved through austerity cuts, £2 has gone to Europe. The EU wastes £160 million a year just to have two bases for its parliament, in Brussels and Strasbourg. We trade as much with India as Belgium, which, as nice as chocolate is, is not the best thing for the future.”
In his unambiguous campaign literature, he says: “We should not be frightened of the prospect of life outside of the EU.” He is a patriot, confident in Britain’s ability to go it alone, if necessary, but believes that Europe – “them”, as he calls the EU – should be given a last chance. “We have backed ourselves as a nation throughout history. Nationalism failed for them. We don’t have the same fear.
“We have huge cultural ties around the world and we ought to make the most of them. I value the tolerance we show as a society – it is of huge value – but we need to make sure that immigration is beneficial for us.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/10163892/Can-James-Cracknell-crack-the-European-Parliament.html
"Nationalism failed for them. We don’t have the same fear."
This guy may be a world-class rower, but he seems not to understand why most Europeans think that "nationalism failed for them" in the first half of the 20th century. Perhaps 68 years of peace on the continent makes it easier for conservatives to mock liberals who remember the history of what happened when the continent was run by nationalistic, "us vs them" politicians.
