As a lifelong Europhile, I rather liked the love letter to Britain from Frans Timmermans, vice president of the new European Commission. We in this country do love Europe, its people, its culture, its quirks, its diversity. Never has Britain been integrated more closely with the rest of Europe, never have we done more trade, never have more Brits lived in Europe and vice versa. The links between our peoples have never been stronger – and, after Brexit, will become stronger still.
The idea of a union of governments, however, was not a model that worked for the UK: that much was decided in a referendum and reinforced in two general elections. It’s nothing personal against Europe or the likes of Timmermans. We just value the ability to elect (or boot out) the people who make our laws.
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