I HAVE never been in any doubt that it is in our country’s best interests to leave the EU.
Bureaucrat-in-chief Jean-Claude Juncker only confirmed my worst fears last week.
He could not have been clearer: ever closer union, both politically and financially, with increased membership of the euro, and an EU army.
The former will inevitably lead to more control from an unaccountable centre, while the latter will endanger NATO and our ability to act quickly when necessary.
Can you imagine 27 countries agreeing to any course of military action?
Meanwhile, the Foreign Secretary is castigated for daring to present a truly positive message for life outside the EU.
Boris Johnson’s article in the Saturday Telegraph last week was deliberately twisted first one way, then the other, not least by the BBC.
He rightly wrote that all those writing off this country were making a “grievous error”.
I agree, and to be clear, as Foreign Secretary, he has every right to give his opinion.
Mrs May has a critical speech on Brexit to give in Florence today.
Far better to bolster her in advance, by reminding the EU what Britain expects.
As a new survey by the London School of Economics and Oxford University has shown, 70 per cent of us expect a clean Brexit, ending Brussels’ rule altogether.
That includes, as Mr Johnson said: “Leaving the customs union and the single market, leaving the penumbra of the European Court of Justice; taking back control of our borders, cash and laws.”
Far from undermining the Prime Minister, Mr Johnson was simply supporting what Mrs May had said in her speech at Lancaster House in January.
We need a dose of optimism and Mr Johnson provided it.