On YouTube I am subscribed to the “laboureuroteam” channel. Quite why I really don’t know, because the drivel that is produced is incredible.

Today when I logged in to see my latest subscription updates I was presented with this hideous piece of nonsense. Apart form the first 3m 30s where I am treated to the sight of Linda McAvan MEP, and wonder in astonishment that she is actually an elected representative!, the answers given by the panel on the question of the EU are amazing.

A selection of quotes from each of the panelists…

Linda

“..there are issues where one country cannot resolve on its own anymore”

“..there are talks in Germany about the future of General Motors. GM is an American company. Whatever happens in Germany will affect jobs in this country. We have to work with other countries because our companies are global, the world is shrinking”

“..If you travel from Sheffield to London by train it takes 2hrs. From London to Brussels it’s 1hr 50mins. The world is shrinking”

What? Is she serious? That is the best argument she can come up with to explain why she believes the EU is necessary and important?

Not a single person I know has ever said that there are not issues which can only be dealt with at an international level. Not a single person I know would disagree that whatever happens in Germany affects jobs in the UK.

Jack Straw

“A lot of the people who criticise the EU call up images of the last war, and proud Britain, and all the rest of it”

” Remind people what happened in 2 world wars which blighted my parents, your grandparent and their parents generation, and killed millions of people across Europe, and for getting on for a thousand years we Europeans were the most violent peoples in the world and we could only resolve our arguments by war, and every century there were wars.”

“Why I’m passionate about our membership…that what we were doing there was an alternative to violence, and war and killing each other”

Again, WTF? Exactly how many Eurosceptics have you heard calling up images of the world wars? It is a question of democracy. I have certainly heard a few Eurosceptics make the point that we went through horrific conflict to defend our freedom and democracy from tyranny, but not once, never, have I heard anybody raise the issue of the war in the context Jack Straw seems to imply – i.e. we hate foreigners. Not once!

As for European peoples being violent that is just pure poppycock. The conflicts across Europe were driven by a lack of democracy, not too much. It was not nation states which were war mongering, but the unhinged leaders. As for more general conflict, well that is certainly not unique to Europe – look almost anywhere in the rest of the world in the same time periods and you will see conflict.

But to say that the EU is good because it is somehow an alternative to war is pure bullsh*t. The alternative to war is peaceful diplomacy, cooperation, neighbourliness, and friendship. At no point by any logical argument can the only alternative to war and conflict be the integration and harmonisation of governance.

Eddie Izzard

“What I’m saying is the UK learning to work together…otherwise what’s the point of civilisation? What’s the point of us being on the planet if were not trying to make it all work?”

“So people who say pulling out of Europe…it’s what we do..civilisation is what we do. the UK is a great example of countries coming together and working together, and we don’t lose our identity as well…if you watch the Scottish play the English in a football game the Scottish are rather Scottish and the English are rather English”

I’m sorry. What is this trash? Here’s that false dichotomy again – either you must like EU integration, or you want us to leave the EU and sulk in the corner, and not cooperate. The intellectual brain power necessary to arrive at that logical conclusion is equivalent to that of an amoeba methinks.

And to think concern about the EU is down to losing our identity is again a complete misunderstanding. Quite frankly it wouldn’t be a great shame if Morris dancing died out, would it now? But seriously, the only threat to national identity is the threat to national culture – harmonised legislation which rubs against the cultural grains of EU nations will have precisely that effect, but that is a totally different argument about the content of legislation.

The real concern over the EU is centred around the structure of governance. Both the current undemocratic structure, and then the more detailed arguments around the undesirability of supranational legislative authority.

And people continue to vote for Labour! Just amazing.