Alex Massie Alex Massie

Ed Miliband adopts a rope-a-dope strategy on Europe

Hopi Sen is not alone. There are many people in this country supremely indifferent to the whole and vexatious question of whether or not there should be a referendum on Britain’s continued membership of the European Union.

Yes, yes, they will tell pollsters that if they must they suppose they might fancy having a referendum some day. But they don’t really care. They mumble about a referendum because that seems the done thing to do and because when a pollster asks you if you’d like to have a say on something it sounds better to say Yes than No thanks, I really can’t be bothered.

And sure, if pressed, they might grumble and chunter about the European Union too and say that it seems to be an unnecessarily invasive institution – or set of institutions, treaties and agreements. Judges may be mentioned. So might bananas and their curvature. All the familiar and favourite things.

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