We Are Underestimated

Watching Question Time at the moment (because there's nothing else on). I thought the audience was supposed to be representative, but most of the eurosceptics are being awfully quiet. Dan Hannan speaking eloquently as always about the EU, if naively about his party. Nigel Farage as always right, but now permanently cast as the ranting man in the pub, the pantomime villain for the deluded.

The Liberal Democrats foreign affairs spokeswoman is also very young (for a politician). It's hard to take her seriously. Obviously, she's advocating EU membership, along with the Green Party representative, Caroline Flint, and a French businessman. But there's a common theme in their arguments.

They argue that we need membership to cooperate on issues like terrorism and climate change. They argue that we need membership for trade. They argue that we need membership for so-and-so many jobs. They argue that we need membership for the EU social chapter.

But the question you need to ask yourself, is whether we couldn't do these things on our own. Why can't we cooperate with other European nations as an independent state? Why, all of a sudden, would all trade between us and France and Germany cease if we were independent, seeing as retaliatory action by them is against WTO rules? Why do we need the EU to make our rules for us?

There seems to be a mentality among those who advocate continued subservience that we are incapable of doing this for ourselves anymore. They lack confidence in Britain. Yet we choose them to represent us. Why? Why elect people who underestimate the British people so badly?