Back in 1988, Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government was ultra-keen to get British businesses fully prepared for Europe’s new Single Market, due to be launched four years later in 1992. Prime Minister Thatcher enthusiastically launched her government’s ‘Europe Open for Business’ campaign in a keynote speech on 18 April 1988. Mrs Thatcher, who championed the concept of the Single Market and was one of its architects, saw it as the key to Britain’s future success. She said: “How we meet the challenge of the Single Market will be a major factor, possibly the major factor, in our competitiv ..read more

I’m so impressed with the new book, Fixing Broken Britain by Alun Drake, that I’ve made a 2-minute video about it. Anyone who lives in Britain, or observes it from afar, knows it’s a broken country. But none of the main parties are addressing why it’s broken – or how to fix it. But that’s precisely what journalist Alun Drake does in his superb book, which pinpoints the problems and offers practical solutions. His lucid insights are presented with flair, humour, and wisdom. Alun’s book isn’t a bid to launch a new political party, however. His constructive solutions to the United Kingdom’s deep ..read more

Babies are being born in Britain who will grow up never having experienced the benefits of EU membership. The right to live, work, travel or retire across most of our continent. The life-changing experience of studying abroad with other young people under the Erasmus scheme. The enormous job and career opportunities more easily accessible across Europe for EU citizens. The profound feeling of being part of a community of countries that has helped to nurture peace and collaboration between them. The right to participate in the running and future direction of Europe. And so many other EU benef ..read more

The Conservatives 2015 manifesto promised ‘votes for life’ for all Britons living abroad – in line with other major democracies, such as the USA, France, Italy, and Canada. Britons who’d been living abroad for more than 15 years weren’t allowed to vote in UK elections. But the Tories pledged to change that. Those Britons abroad – estimated to be 3.4 million – had expected to vote in the EU referendum to be held just a year later. But the government broke its promise, claiming there wasn’t time to implement votes for those Brits in the referendum. Poppycock. If there was time to organise a ref ..read more

On the day after the EU referendum, 24 June 2016, the then Prime Minister, David Cameron, stood outside 10 Downing Street. He could have said: “The people of the United Kingdom have all had their say.” But he didn’t. He didn’t mention “United Kingdom” at all. What he actually said was: “Over 33 million people, from England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Gibraltar have all had their say.” And this is a key point. Of the five territories asked to take part in the referendum, three strongly voted AGAINST Brexit. Despite this, Brexit went ahead. Brexiters are quick to point out ..read more

UK democracy needs radical reform, but there’s little evidence our leaders are ready to take up the challenge, writes Alun Drake. I’m a great fan of jokes involving defective light bulbs. Here’s an example: how many climate change deniers does it take to change a light bulb? Answer: none, because they claim it’s too early to tell if the light bulb is really broken. My all-time favourite in this series goes as follows: how many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb? Answer: only one, but the light bulb must want to be changed. For me, this is so much more than a punchline. It can a ..read more

Eurosceptics often claim that they love Europe but hate the European Union. They assert that Britain can still be part of Europe without having to be part of the European Union. That, of course, is true to an extent, but it rather misses the point and purpose of the EU. The European Economic Community – later to be called the European Union – was started in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, with the express intent of avoiding wars on our continent ever happening again. That was the passionate resolve of those who are regarded as the eleven founders of the European Union, includ ..read more

The EU is the most successful peace project in human history. Sure, it’s not perfect. But as a model for neighbouring countries to democratically work together, in cooperation and in peace, for the common goals of prosperity and security with respect for human rights, there is no better example on planet earth. If the world’s countries were aligned in the same way as EU countries, then we’d have a more peaceful world. But right now, we don’t even have a more peaceful continent. War is raging in Europe in a way we’d hope to have consigned to the past. However – there is no war between EU count ..read more

There is no doubt across the world, even in Russia, that Vladimir Putin was directly involved in the murder on Friday of Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny. Just as there is now little doubt that Russia directly interfered in the UK’s democratic processes – the Scottish referendum in 2014, the EU referendum in 2016, and the general election in 2019. This year is scheduled to have more elections across the world than any other in history – in the USA, in the UK, in India, in the EU, and many others. And there is no doubt that Putin’s massive machine of insurgency is right now working ov ..read more

Compared to Brexit, the day Britain ditched its old money and adopted a new decimal currency was smooth sailing. Work on the new system began in earnest in March 1966 and decimalisation day came five years later, on 15 February 1971, when the government launched the new currency across the country. The familiar pounds, shillings and pence were to be phased out during the following 18 months in favour of a system dividing the pound into 100 pennies, instead of 240. Banks were closed for two working days to prepare for the introduction of the new currency. The then Chairman of the Decimal Curre ..read more