Jeremy Thorpe Destroys The Case For Brexit!

That wasn't the case for brexit....?

The Brexiteers of the time wanted us to leave the EEC. Thorpe was arguing for Britain to stay.

But that wasn't the case for leave in 2016.

It was cited as a mitigation, sure. But it wasn't the case for leaving.

Eh?

The arguments at the time were much the same, although migration was less of a central point.

Where does he talk about the subscription cost?

In this video of an Oxford Union debate on a referendum on the UK's membership of the EEC in 1975, Jeremy Thorpe, the late former leader of the Liberal Party, utterly destroys the case for Brexit.

[video="youtube;M5ks5tmNwCY"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5ks5tmNwCY[/video]

27:00-50:15

Thorpe destroys the idea that the EU needs us more than we need it. Half of our exports go to the bloc, whilst only 8% of the bloc's exports go to us. And before someone mentions our trade deficit with Germany, Germany, no matter how much it may suffer from Brexit, will not sacrifice the long-term interests of the European Union for their short-term interest in maximising their trade with Britain.

Thorpe points out the unlikely bedfellows brought together by anti-European sentiment - IRA + nationalists + imperial free-marketeers + old-school Marxists. "A most extraordinary coalition between 19th-century imperialists and 20th-century Marxists." Just like the Brexit vote saw an alliance between far-left demagogues like George Galloway and blinkered middle-class, far-right libertarians like Daniel Hannan still hankering after empire and desiring to turn the UK into a US-style neoliberal utopia as well as socially authoritarian reactionaries like Peter Hitchens, Europe back then had the most curious effect of uniting wildly disparate ideological groups in implacable hostility to it.

Then, as now, our enemies were celebrating the prospect of our departure. Idi Amin was the only Commonwealth leader wanting us to leave. Brexit was celebrated by the likes of Putin and ISIS. Well done, Brexiteer patriots.

Unlike the ugly and fact-free brawl that we saw so many months ago, we see an intelligent debate between articulate men and women who at least make an effort to be honest. Jeremy Thorpe is way above the level of Nick Clegg or Tim Farron. Sadly they don't make politicians like him anymore. The people who made the case for Remain in the Brexit referendum made what was generally a mediocre effort.