In 1997, Conservative newspaper adverts depicted Blair as a tiny puppet sitting on the knee of Chancellor Kohl. It did not prevent a Labour landslide. Instead of learning the obvious lesson, William Hague has become a latter-day champion of isolationism. It matters little what the European issue is. On the Euro, the Rapid Reaction Force and now the Treaty of Nice, the Conservative line is to say No.
History is said to repeat itself, first as tragedy then as farce.
In the case of the politics of isolationism, history in our country simply repeats itself, period. The Conservatives have become a single-issue party obsessed with saying No to Europe. As a Labour MP, I may welcome the electoral gains that come to Labour as the British people will always reject such politics. But our nation's interests are not served by the obsessive press and political campaign against Europe. I long to see a young Tory John Smith who will stand up in the Conservative Party for common sense on Europe.