The party whose membership card I currently have sitting in my wallet, our party, is without a doubt a broad church, but I think it reasonable to presume that the vast majority of Liberal Democrats would profess to value liberty and democracy – at any rate, the two are described as ‘fundamental’ in the Preamble to the party’s Constitution. In the light of such principles, strong support of the European Union seems a little bizarre to me.
Movement towards centralisation and ‘ever closer union’ contradicts aspirations for increased dispersal of power and encouragement of diversity. I would expect us Liberal Democrats to aim for government to be as open, accessible and close to people as possible, but we seem willing to allow our lives to be brought under the purview of Brussels bureaucrats, with most UK citizens having little idea of how policy is made or who represents us. A brief study of the EU’s history reveals how many times constituent nations have tried and failed to reform it, and, worse, how many times those in charge have ignored referenda which have gone against their wishes. Rather than by the people, for the people, the EU is first and foremost government by elites for the furthering of an agenda most UK citizens do not support.
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