I am afraid I think the European Union is set on a path of empire building and ever closer union and that it is incapable of major change and unwilling to consider the scale of reform we should be demanding. I say this with considerable regret because I have liked David Cameron at close quarters and respected William Hague and Michael Gove.
I begin to wonder the extent to which our MPs are thinking more about their careers than our country? I do not include Cameron in that condemnatory view; I am afraid he has been sucked into the power vortex that exists at the top of the tree as have William Hague and Michael Gove, not to mention John Major and Michael Heseltine, the latter always having been a hopeless case.
Which brings me to Boris. I fear he is waiting his time and balancing beliefs against career prospects. This is very sad because we need a leader to advocate the Leave cause and we do not seem to have one yet. Boris is the obvious leader and I think he has the sense of history and personal freedom that should be rejecting the EU’s ambitions. I suspect he will be offered a ministerial job (do I mean bribe) under Cameron as a price for supporting Stay; I hope I am wrong.
At the moment, I expect the great British public to vote to stay in the European Union, probably 55 to 45 and mainly because of the fear factor that Cameron’s team will stoke up and because we are essentially conservative with a small “c” and risk averse. I hope I am wrong because I think the European Union needs a jolt and we need to realise we can thrive outside of this sclerotic, anti-democratic bureaucracy.
What is most likely to change the entire scene is the impact of immigration on this country and the recent judgement that opens the floodgates a little further plus Jeremy Corbyn’s support for similar opening of the floodgates and this may well shift opinion towards the Leave camp. I certainly hope so.