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For those who don't know, this anti-euro thundering by Thatcher's was after she had been deposed by the pro-euro wing of her party. The timing is extremely useful to remember. Until the Berlin Wall came down, Thatcher was quite enthusiastic about the direction of EU travel. There were disagreements here and there, but nothing truly significant. A good deal of the most important European treaties were signed by Thatcher.
What changed her attitude was not any great principle about democracy or parliamentary sovereignty but the reunification of Germany. She understood that Germany would dominate the EU in a way that it had hitherto been unable. A lot of biographies about her tell this very story, and I think I remember her saying so in her autobiography. Yet the same tired myths about Thatcher prevail: she was a champion of parliamentary sovereignty etc. Thatcher was an enthusiastic EUphile until it was clear that there would no longer be a balance of power against a rampant Germany.
Skinner was absolutely right, but for the wrong reason. In hindsight or foresight, it's easy to imagine Thatcher having been governor of the ECB. With her uber-German-style, anti-inflation, monetarist Hayekian mindset she'd have been perfect!
The Beast of Bolsover, as Skinner is known, is a peculiar fellow. He's right a lot of the time, but some of his decisions are terrible. He supported David Miliband, a mad neoliberal and for all intents and purposes a neoconservative, for the leadership of the Labour Party because Miliband would apparently have been better than Cameron. That's wishful thinking, but there's a lot of that by tribal Labour supporters.
2 comments:
Worth it for the inevitable Dennis Skinner intervention. He's still there telling it as it is.
For those who don't know, this anti-euro thundering by Thatcher's was after she had been deposed by the pro-euro wing of her party. The timing is extremely useful to remember. Until the Berlin Wall came down, Thatcher was quite enthusiastic about the direction of EU travel. There were disagreements here and there, but nothing truly significant. A good deal of the most important European treaties were signed by Thatcher.
What changed her attitude was not any great principle about democracy or parliamentary sovereignty but the reunification of Germany. She understood that Germany would dominate the EU in a way that it had hitherto been unable. A lot of biographies about her tell this very story, and I think I remember her saying so in her autobiography. Yet the same tired myths about Thatcher prevail: she was a champion of parliamentary sovereignty etc. Thatcher was an enthusiastic EUphile until it was clear that there would no longer be a balance of power against a rampant Germany.
Skinner was absolutely right, but for the wrong reason. In hindsight or foresight, it's easy to imagine Thatcher having been governor of the ECB. With her uber-German-style, anti-inflation, monetarist Hayekian mindset she'd have been perfect!
The Beast of Bolsover, as Skinner is known, is a peculiar fellow. He's right a lot of the time, but some of his decisions are terrible. He supported David Miliband, a mad neoliberal and for all intents and purposes a neoconservative, for the leadership of the Labour Party because Miliband would apparently have been better than Cameron. That's wishful thinking, but there's a lot of that by tribal Labour supporters.
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