Britain Readying to Leave Europe

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Britain Readying to Leave Europe

Recent anti-EU statements from senior leaders in the British government could mark a watershed moment for Britain’s membership in the EU.

Ever since Britain joined the European Community in 1973, the Trumpet and its predecessor have forecast that Britain will one day remove itself from—or be tossed out of—the European Union.

Over the last few days, a momentous development that will hasten this event has occurred.

In short, for the first time in 30 years senior politicians from Britain’s major parties are now publicly making overtly anti-European statements.

The first to do so was Theresa May, Britain’s home secretary and a rising star within the Conservative Party. May attacked the EU on two different occasions and on two separate issues in just the last week. On Sunday, Phillip Hammond, Britain’s defense secretary and a fellow Conservative politician, joined May in her assault on the EU by declaring that it’s time for a “reset” of the Britain-Europe relationship.

Perhaps the most significant declaration came from Michael Gove, Britain’s education secretary and also a Conservative Party member. Mr. Gove revealed over the weekend that if a referendum on Britain’s membership in the EU was held tomorrow, he would vote for a British withdrawal.

If you’re unfamiliar with British politics, it’s important to note that each of these figures is a member of the Conservative Party, which is led by Prime Minister David Cameron. Ever since Cameron took office, his government has successfully practiced a sweep-it-under-the-rug policy when it came to Britain leaving Europe. Of course, one of the reasons ignoring and avoiding the Europe question has been possible is that government leaders have remained aloof on the subject.

Until now.

Peter Oborne, chief political commentator at the Telegraph, wrote an excellent piece explaining this development (emphasis added throughout). “The importance of these remarks [from May, Hammond and Gove] cannot be overstated,” he wrote.

Although many people have criticized Europe, no senior British politician has actually dared to advocate a severance of relations since Michael Foot more than a quarter of a century ago. Ever since Mr. Foot’s humiliation in the 1983 general election, there has been a consensus among all senior politicians in all three main parties that Britain’s membership of the EU, however irritating in practice, is a good thing in principle.

Now, for the first time in nearly 30 years, mainstream and senior British leaders are speaking out against Europe!

Mr. Gove’s decision to break with that consensus would be a moment of first-rate importance even if he were acting on his own. But he reportedly has the support of approximately half the Conservative members of the Cabinet. Indeed there is even reason to speculate that Mr. Gove, who is a close family friend of the prime minister, may be acting as an outrider for Mr. Cameron ….

This huge development will rock British politics, and more significantly, Britain’s relationship with Europe. “It is clear that the Conservative Party has reached a turning point,” wrote Oborne. “Mr. Cameron has resolved to risk detonating the European bomb, in the full knowledge of the consequences.”

It’s hard to predict the details of how this will unfold. However, what is certain is that the addition of senior mainstream politicians—from the Cameron government, no less—to the anti-EU bandwagon will give it much greater momentum. “I reckon the education secretary and his cabinet supporters are genuinely ready to try to take Britain out of the European Union,” confessed Oborne.

If you haven’t read it already, it’s time you read “Britain Was Warned!” Momentous events are unfolding in Europe and Britain, and it’s vital you understand exactly what is happening. The Europe question is about to explode in Britain, and when it does, as Mr. Oborne put it, it “could all be very bloody and horrible.”