By James Simons-
Theresa May’s contradicting position on the EU is one that causes pause for thought.
Theresa May Believed Staying In Europe Best Serves the Security of the UK, according to a secret recording leaked to the UK guardian. At Goldman Sachs, May expressed her conviction that Britain’s security was best served by remaining in Europe because of tools such as the European arrest warrant and the information-sharing between the police and intelligence agencies.
“There are definitely things we can do as members of the European Union that I think to keep us safer,” May said.
The recording also reveals the prime minister’s belief that staying in Europe would be more economically beneficial than leaving Europe. The prime minister is quoted as saying:
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“If we were not in Europe, I think there would be firms and companies who would be looking to say, do they need to develop a mainland Europe presence rather than a UK presence? So I think there are definite benefits for us in economic terms.”
Her warning about the importance of the UK’s membership of the EU is sharply contrasted with her official position in recent weeks in which she has highlighted the benefits of being out of the EU.
May said at the Conservative party conference that she wanted to prioritise reducing immigration over being part of the single market. In her speech, she said British companies needed the “maximum freedom to trade and operate in the single market” but not at the expense of “giving up control of immigration again” or accepting the jurisdiction of judges in
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SINGLE MARKET
Her present position raises serious questions as to whether the prime minister is playing politics in her Brexit stance which directly opposes the views she publicly made not long before the historic Brexit referendum in June. This is because of the shocking contradiction in her official position.
Last April, May outlined the benefits of staying in the EU in a speech in which she warned that it could have an impact on the development of the single market for the rest of the EU if the UK left. Britain remaining part of the single market whilst being out of Europe is already proving a sticky point with EU leaders. President of the EU, Jean-Claude Juncker, has been emphatic in his position that Britain will not have access to the single market unless it allows freedom of movement- an uncompromising position that appears to be inflexible with both the UK and The EU.
British Economy
The Guardian reports that her comments at the Goldman Sachs event a month later went even further in warning about the dangers to the British economy from businesses relocating to continental Europe. Theresa May told City bankers, she also worried about the effect Brexit would have on the British economy. The former Home Secretary said:
“I think the economic arguments are clear,” she said. “I think being part of a 500-million trading bloc is significant for us. I think, as I was saying to you a little earlier, that one of the issues is that a lot of people will invest here in the UK because it is the UK in Europe”.
This statement contradicts her position today in which she stresses the high opportunities for Britain as the fifth biggest economy in the world to trade with the rest of the world.
BREXIT
However, May may have been slowly having a change of heart on some EU issues or may have privately been smelling a Brexit outcome. The prime minister kept a very low profile during the respective campaigns in the lead up to the referendum. Her fence sitting became so conspicuous that the former prime minister, David Cameron, is said to have become crossed with her over her lukewarm stance in support of the EU. It remains unknown what was going through the mind of the then ambitious home secretary during the EU campaign that caused her to take a back seat.
One possibility is that the public declarations she made highlighting the benefits of the UK staying in the EU were more orchestrated than it was genuine. We all know that many politicians give speeches that are influenced from the top. Speeches that may not necessarily reflect their true position on the matter. The eye of media.com believeS that Theresa May should clarify why she was fence sitting during the referendum period. She needs to tell us why her position has changed, when it changed, why it changed. This is necessary so that we can trust the integrity of our leaders and know they are genuine.
There can be no escape from a frank disclosure from the prime minister as to why we have two sharply opposing positions being taken by the same person who is now leading the country.
The Guardian states that her ”refusal to participate much in the campaign led Craig Oliver, David Cameron’s former chief of communications, to wonder if she was secretly an “enemy agent” for the other side. However, others have suggested she believed in the arguments for staying in but was keeping her powder dry in case of a pro-Brexit vote”. Only Theresa May herself can clarify what the true position is.
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