More signs of a widening rift between Britain and the wine-drinking socialist welfare states of Europe: the new Tory Shadow Home Secretary called for a reintroduction of the death penalty. Other senior Tories have dismissed the call, though if the Tories win the next election (which, with Murdoch showing signs of favouring Howard, isn't impossible), could we see Britain leave the EU and instead seek closer political union with the United States?

(Then again, if Britain was officially part of the US, they may not be imposing martial law in London for the Emperor's visit, what with Constitutional rights and all that. Who was it that said that everyone is either governed by US domestic policy or US foreign policy?)

Posted by: William Denton | http://www.miskatonic.org/ | Tue Nov 18 05:55:52 2003

Niall Ferguson, who wrote that book Empire (and a number of others) said that Britain will never leave the EU because its purpose in it is to represent American interests. If it wasn't part of it, who knows what the others would get up to?

Posted by: acb | http://dev.null.org | Tue Nov 18 06:24:41 2003

Ah true; the old divide-and-conquer strategy. Though the US now has Poland and the rest of New Europe to counterbalance the Gaullist menace.

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