Letters | 27 June 2019

Appeasement?

Sir: Your editorial (‘Plan B’, 22 June) refers to the need for Boris Johnson, as prospective PM, to have ‘warm words for our European allies — even if we end up without a deal’. The use of the word ‘allies’ troubles me. The dictionary defines the word in context: ‘Any time there’s a disagreement or conflict, it helps to have allies: if you don’t, you’re all alone.’ Being ‘alone’ is not the same as being wrong. Britain has been very much ‘alone’ in the past. And while it has sometimes been wrong, it has often been alone and right in its cause. One of the most extraordinary aspects of the whole Brexit debate has been the vituperative conduct of the EU.

The Spectator was on the right side of this argument in 1972, when you were just about the only national publication to oppose Heath’s attempts to shoehorn us into the EEC.