THE BRITISH ISLES AREN'T EUROPEAN:

Brussels is not prepared for what might hit it if Britain’s Conservative Party wins the next election">Europe’s Tory nightmare (Charlemagne, Jul 10th 2008, The Economist)

If opinion polls are to be believed, the Conservatives will form the next British government by the spring of 2010. As a Tory victory draws closer, two things may happen: the Irish will become harder to isolate; and talk of a two-speed Europe will become more dangerous and destabilising for the EU. In truth, for the two-speed Europe camp, little Ireland is barely a prize. But pushing a sullen Britain into an outer circle would clear the way for all sorts of Euro-integration. Such federalists have their mirror-opposites in Britain. Eurosceptic hardliners dream that Britain could negotiate a nice free-trade pact with the EU, like a giant Norway or Switzerland (but without as much fish or cheese). The odds are still against Britain walking out. But the country has changed in ways that Brussels underestimates. A cool-headed majority on both sides would surely regret it if Britain accidentally fell out of the union, without proper debate.

Today’s Conservatives would form the most Eurosceptic government since Britain joined the club in 1973. Unlike previous Tory bosses, David Cameron does not have to accommodate pro-Europeans in the party, let alone in his inner circle (just three Tory members of Parliament voted with the government on the Lisbon Treaty in March, and all were over 60). It is true that Mr Cameron does not want to “bang on” about Europe, alienating voters whose distaste for the EU is matched only by their desire never to hear anything about it. Indeed, the EU is unlikely to be one of Mr Cameron’s top three campaign themes. But once elected, a Conservative government is sure to pick some fights.

England and Ireland belong to the Anglosphere.

Posted by Orrin Judd at July 10, 2008 5:03 PM