Monday 18 July 2011

How to put the 'Great' back in front of Britain?

Bernard Jenkin has published a report, one he co-authored with George Grant of The Henry Jackson Society, on the subject of Britain's future strategy and the UK's future world role. It is not the point of this post to dissect the content of Jenkin's report, some of whose views/conclusions I do not agree with.

There are however a few observations to make:

The Foreward, written by Bob Ainsworth - he of rt. hon titleage - states:
"...this is a fundamental debate about the very nature of our country which we now must have, if rational and safe decisions are to be made to secure our future freedom, prosperity and security. This paper correctly argues that the United Kingdom has reached a moment of decision: that we have to choose whether the UK will continue to have a global role or take on the role of a less significant nation..."
Arguing that being a military global power brings prosperity Jenkin begins his paper thus:
"We have to decide whether we wish to maintain our position as a global power with a global role, or whether we really wish to become by default just another European country with only a regional one."
The reason I have extracted those two quotations is that they both illustrate exactly why this country needs a divorce from the European Union - all things considered, is it not the point that we and only we should have the right to decide our freedoms, prosperity and security?

The other point of note concerns the beliefs of Bob Ainsworth, as expressed in the Foreward, and the fact that he also believes in greater EU integration. It is contradictory to believe in greater EU integration, yet also maintain that the UK’s interests are global and that consequently its role should be global.

Or is Ainsworth, as with most politicians, cherry-picking his principles? Just asking, you understand......

4 comments:

john in cheshire said...

Wasn't Mr Ainsworth Minister of Defence for some short time? Isn't he a bit thick? Why on earth should anyone take any notice of this entity?

john in cheshire said...

And if you look up Henry Jackson Foundation on Wikipedia, their profile doesn't engender much comfort. They appear to be yet another bunch of socialist warmongers.

TomTom said...

Having spent our way into penury through two World Wars and bankruptcy in the Korean War, it seems that Britain wants it all on the cheap.

Bacon & Eltis wrote a seminal work in the 1970s - "Britain's Economic Problem - Too Few Producers" - that problem has still not been solved and is the cause of our poverty.


On a different tack WW. Have you read the comment on Spectator Coffee Shop from someone intimating that your MP and Rebekah Brooks jointly own a racehorse trained by Mr Brooks ?

WitteringsfromWitney said...

jic: Yes he was and no, I hadn't look up THJF - thanks for the tip.

TT: Another book I need to find then...

No I hadn't but given the choice no doubt Cameron would've selected the arse end.........