tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36227136.post5105033035656632232..comments2024-01-16T08:40:53.682+00:00Comments on <a href="http://www.openeurope.org.uk">Open Europe</a>: Beyond the simplifications, what is Margaret Thatcher's European legacy?OEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00556463374230498875noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36227136.post-50225544396551630962013-04-11T11:26:38.468+01:002013-04-11T11:26:38.468+01:00@Christina
Well said. I could not have put it bet...@Christina<br />Well said. I could not have put it better.Average Englishmannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36227136.post-46217224409969969962013-04-09T15:03:26.442+01:002013-04-09T15:03:26.442+01:00What almost all the commentators have failed to no...What almost all the commentators have failed to notice is that experience changed her views on Europe.<br /><br />At the time of the 1975 referendum the EEC was a dream of peace and stability. She and the British people fell for that lie and she embarked on trying to work with it. She was part architect of the Single Europe Act but disillusion then set in when it became apparent that our "partners" had no intention of abiding by the spirit - let alone the letter - of that deal. All the areas where Britain was strong still to this day have not been fully implemented.<br /><br />So she was disgusted and said so and the Marbaret Thatcher, faced with new circumstances changed her attitude to the EU. She saw - a bit late but she saw it - for the racket it was having no regard for EU law or EU deals if it didn't suit the Franco-German axis. So an EU conspiracy was organised and she was summarily removed from office. <br /><br />Her legacy was that because the people were increasingly in agreement with her stance we, the people, also began to see it bas a racket and the illegal way the euro has been conducted from the start means that a majority here now want "OUT". Our problem, under our electoral system, is actually putting that desire into practice! (But that is another tale!) christina speightnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36227136.post-28231102078188988422013-04-09T14:34:24.225+01:002013-04-09T14:34:24.225+01:00Put simply, her legacy has proved disastrous, as s...Put simply, her legacy has proved disastrous, as she herself began to realise when it was too late.Denis Coopernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36227136.post-74672144843523899352013-04-09T11:44:18.894+01:002013-04-09T11:44:18.894+01:00Maggie did make mistakes and the Single Europe Act...Maggie did make mistakes and the Single Europe Act was the biggest. But although much vaunted for her steadfastness, she gave way too often to the quislings in her cabinet. Even the strongest can be brought down by a surfeit of vegetables.Rollohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18255460090580758354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36227136.post-67703095458642005512013-04-09T07:36:05.184+01:002013-04-09T07:36:05.184+01:00The irony being that her ideas of the possible pac...The irony being that her ideas of the possible pace were far more realistic than of those who ultimately decided to go the way they went.<br />Riknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36227136.post-37533480156887661482013-04-09T01:17:45.829+01:002013-04-09T01:17:45.829+01:00She was pro-Europe and anti-EU. It's a shame y...She was pro-Europe and anti-EU. It's a shame you aren't.Beach Bumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02497117201903525323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36227136.post-57139645778655678212013-04-08T20:52:40.656+01:002013-04-08T20:52:40.656+01:00The fact that you say "pro British and pro EU...The fact that you say "pro British and pro EU?" as if it is a somewhat dubious combination really just shows how badly the EU has managed its relationship with the UK.<br /><br />It ought to be perfectly easy to be both in favour of membership of a single market, and also enthusiastic about your own country, its institutions and its history.<br /><br />It is the misfortune of the EU that it managed to get itself kidnapped by a ruling elite that was explicitly hostile to national sovereignty and the nation state.<br /><br />The EU could have had a much easier relationship with its members if it had kept to the vision of the Founding fathers, who believed that integration would emerge naturally as economies converged, and who foresaw that process taking a long time.<br /><br />It was the temptation to force the pace that led to many of the EU's current problems, mainly, but not only, the problems of the euro-area.jon liveseynoreply@blogger.com