Why Europhiles should welcome Brexit day

As Big Ben fails to bong tonight, and Brexiteers toast a famous victory, will those who voted for Remain be ranting or sulking, or simply crying into their beer? If so, they should perhaps stop feeling so sorry for themselves. Of course, if you’re a Europhile, today is hardly a day of celebration – but neither is it a day for misery. Because if you believe in the EU, as I do, you should welcome Brexit Day.

Brexit isn’t just a fresh start for Britain – it’s also a fresh start for the EU. For nearly 30 years, ever since Maastricht, Britain has been a constant drag on the development of the European Union. De Gaulle was right: Britain was never temperamentally cut out to be a member of this club of nations. Its history and its national character meant it was never going to work.

For the last 30 years, I’ve been reporting fairly regularly from all over Europe, and if my travels have taught me anything it’s that Continental Europe is fundamentally different from the island where I was raised.