We should be celebrating our freedom from the clutches of the European Union
Nearly 900 days after that historic vote, we're left with a stinker of a deal and a Government that has pursued a damage-limitation strategy from Day One
Who dares wins
FREEING ourselves from the clutches of the European Union should be a reason to celebrate.
But nearly 900 days after that historic vote, we’re left with a stinker of a deal and a Government that has pursued a damage-limitation strategy from Day One.
It is a crying shame that nobody in Government has put their heart into a vision of a truly global Britain. The PM is in Buenos Aires rightly extolling our virtues to world leaders, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that her Cabinet are afraid that Britain cannot make it on its own. That weakness has been exploited time after time by EU negotiators.
If only they shared the faith of those who voted for a brighter future.
The scandalous lack of planning for a clean break, as James Forsyth makes clear on this very page, is a result of the Government only ever looking for pitfalls — rather than grabbing the opportunities that are so obviously out there for a reinvigorated Britain.
It’s not too late. If the PM loses the crunch vote in Parliament, we must step up preparations to leave without a deal by several notches.
And that might well see Brussels bureaucrats, for all their harsh words, coming back to the negotiating table.
Tainted cash
GOOD detectives always follow the money, and that’s never as true as it is with the sham Press regulator Impress.
The disgraced tycoon Max Mosley, via his family trust, has pledged to keep funding this so-called independent body for years to come, as he continues his vendetta against the free Press.
Labour donor Mr Mosley is no fan of the papers, and not just for exposing his extra-curricular activities. The media also uncovered his racist past, including pamphlets warning: “Coloured immigration threatens your children’s health.”
When that bile came to light, the Labour Party promised not to take another penny from him. But he’s spent years bankrolling their Deputy Leader Tom Watson’s office to the tune of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Isn’t it time the cash was handed back, Mr Watson?
Show of faith
BRITAIN must step up to the plate and offer Asia Bibi asylum.
Ms Bibi, a Pakistani Catholic, was acquitted last month of blasphemy charges — a charge which had left her on death row. Whilst she’s in hiding, hardline Islamists have been parading around the country’s streets with images of her in a noose. It is clear she will never be safe in Pakistan.
We should be proud of the fact that Britain is open to those of all religions and none, and give her a home here.