In 1998 I felt very privileged to have been invited to the 1st Congress for Democracy which was held in Church House, Westminster. As a fairly new anti-EU campaigner in those days I was not only awestruck by the surroundings knowing what moments of history had taken place in Church House, but quite taken aback that I had been invited to such a prestigious event and found myself rubbing shoulders with some very big political names, not least one of my heroes, the journalist Christopher Booker.
There was quite an atmosphere at those meetings in those days, there were 10 Congress for Democracy meetings in all over a five year period. Although most there were worried about the power and influence of the EU, the main aim at that time was to ensure Britain would not join the euro.
As the pressure mounted while other EU member states prepared foe membership of the euro, many by fiddling figures so they could meet the criteria, we in this country were waiting for our promised referendum on scrapping our pound for the EU's euro. The Blair Government of the time began to worry about giving us a referendum as the signs were we would vote 'No', this, however, did not stop the pro-EU Blair Government, the European Movement and a whole array of pro-EU basket cases from doing their best to prime the electorate for the referendum - the message was - 'It's inevitable'.
At the Congress for Democracy meetings this inevitability factor became quite a concern, during one of them many speakers voiced their worries that the British electorate, when the referendum came, would go out sheep-like and vote 'Yes' to joining the euro not because they wanted it - but because it was "inevitable". Whilst listening to the debate I remembered a conversation I had with an acquaintance in my watering hole in Walsall, the good old Lyndon House Hotel, and decided to relate it to the esteemed gathering.
I told them how, whilst enjoying a beer, one of the regulars who knew my stance on the EU and its euro, came up to me and said: "You know its inevitable that we will join the euro - don't you?" My response to this was to ask him a question. I asked him that as it was inevitable would he still vote in the referendum the Government was committed to give us and if he did would he vote 'Yes' on the basis it was inevitable. His answer was a very positive; I will vote in the referendum and I will vote 'No'. To which I replied: "well its not inevitable then is it?"
When I told of this public house encounter it raised a laugh among the delegates, but it also drove a nail through the gloom at the time caused by the fear of inevitability. Since then I have always said the only inevitable factors regarding the euro and the EU is that it is inevitable that both will fail - the euro is well on that path now and at some inevitable stage the EU will take the same course.
In the Daily Telegraph (21st May 2001) Jeff Randall writes about the end of the euro and states: "the euro as we know it is dead". The only inevitable conclusion is that soon the whole EU misadventure will be dead too - bring it on soon.
There was quite an atmosphere at those meetings in those days, there were 10 Congress for Democracy meetings in all over a five year period. Although most there were worried about the power and influence of the EU, the main aim at that time was to ensure Britain would not join the euro.
As the pressure mounted while other EU member states prepared foe membership of the euro, many by fiddling figures so they could meet the criteria, we in this country were waiting for our promised referendum on scrapping our pound for the EU's euro. The Blair Government of the time began to worry about giving us a referendum as the signs were we would vote 'No', this, however, did not stop the pro-EU Blair Government, the European Movement and a whole array of pro-EU basket cases from doing their best to prime the electorate for the referendum - the message was - 'It's inevitable'.
At the Congress for Democracy meetings this inevitability factor became quite a concern, during one of them many speakers voiced their worries that the British electorate, when the referendum came, would go out sheep-like and vote 'Yes' to joining the euro not because they wanted it - but because it was "inevitable". Whilst listening to the debate I remembered a conversation I had with an acquaintance in my watering hole in Walsall, the good old Lyndon House Hotel, and decided to relate it to the esteemed gathering.
I told them how, whilst enjoying a beer, one of the regulars who knew my stance on the EU and its euro, came up to me and said: "You know its inevitable that we will join the euro - don't you?" My response to this was to ask him a question. I asked him that as it was inevitable would he still vote in the referendum the Government was committed to give us and if he did would he vote 'Yes' on the basis it was inevitable. His answer was a very positive; I will vote in the referendum and I will vote 'No'. To which I replied: "well its not inevitable then is it?"
When I told of this public house encounter it raised a laugh among the delegates, but it also drove a nail through the gloom at the time caused by the fear of inevitability. Since then I have always said the only inevitable factors regarding the euro and the EU is that it is inevitable that both will fail - the euro is well on that path now and at some inevitable stage the EU will take the same course.
In the Daily Telegraph (21st May 2001) Jeff Randall writes about the end of the euro and states: "the euro as we know it is dead". The only inevitable conclusion is that soon the whole EU misadventure will be dead too - bring it on soon.
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