UK's relationship with Europe: Did David Cameron do the right thing?

Since David Cameron used the United Kingdom's European Union veto, something no other British Prime Minister has ever done before, the media have been running stories with headlines suggesting that he has put the UK in an isolated position.

Once again the media has shown that it is more interested in sensationalising an incredibly important story rather than reporting it in a balanced way. This is nothing more than pro-European, mainly left-wing, propaganda which can only further the divide between those on the right and left of UK politics. Perhaps even worse it could scare people into thinking the UK is heading down a dangerous path toward isolationism which is an absurd idea. One can hardly call the UK isolationist when it is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the Commonwealth and the EU. If you want to look at an isolationist regime check out North Korea.

Nobody can be sure that the use of the veto, which has saved the UK from having to financially bind itself to the rest of Europe, is going to damage the UK's influence or prosperity. In fact over 50 countries outside of the EU have free trade agreements with the EU. If the UK was outside of the EU, which I am not advocating, it could easily do this too. The last time the UK was financially in bed with Europe was as a member of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism the precursor to the Euro. That was a disaster for the UK and she was forced to leave the ERM to save herself in the crisis of 1992 infamously known as 'Black Wednesday'. The UK had strong economic growth following the exit. If the UK had joined the Euro it would be in as much of a mess as Ireland, Greece, Italy and others find themselves today.

It's vital that the UK is able to decide on it's own budget i.e. being in control of tax and spending plans. This not only means our elected government make the decisions but it means it can make decisions in the interests of it's people without having to limit it's own domestic policy agenda due to constraints set by Europe or because our taxes are going to bail out weak or poorly run economies.

The global economic crisis was created by a lack of bank regulation. Bankers operated within the law in most instances but unrestrained they took bigger and bigger risks and sub prime loans/mortgages became core to bank's lending portfolios. People who shouldn't have been given mortgages bought homes. This in turn pushed up house prices. Homeowners used their equity to fund excessive spending on consumer goods. When the economic cycle naturally turns negative, and it always does, those that have over borrowed and/or were most likely to lose their jobs in a recession couldn't fund their debt. The economy goes into free fall and how far and for how long it falls depends on the economy's suitability to the world it finds itself in to drive growth. Bankers must recognise their role in creating this crisis but governments failed to regulate them properly and that's the root cause.

If David Cameron had signed up to the European fiscal union that France and Germany are trying to create he would have handed over the control of our budget making powers to 26 European countries. The majority of UK voters do not want this loss of sovereignty because we are proud of our independent heritage. I love parts of Europe and would go as far as to say that I feel somewhat at home in France but what makes me love it is that it isn't my country and is very different. The rich cultural differences make life interesting and we should celebrate our unique national identities. Additionally, our economies and ways of working are very different making it hard to align the economic cycles which will create tension between member states in the same way as the ERM did and the Euro is doing today.

The EU needs to be reformed. We never voted for the United States of Europe to be created. We agreed to join the European Economic Community which includes the single market. It's time that we had a proper debate about what kind of relationship we want with the EU and what we want the EU to be. If this results in either a virtual or actual withdraw from the EU or further integration it must be put to the country in the form of a referendum. If we can't shape the EU in a way that's great for the UK then we are better off out of it. It's just another layer of government that we do not need.

Whatever happens next between the UK and the EU the UK must focus it's commercial efforts and influence on a global strategy plus making it easier to do business in the UK. The majority of UK citizens do not want to live in a new country called the United States of Europe; it's neither desirable or necessary. The EU should focus on what it really needs to be for the benefit of member states rather than what some of the political elite want - a superpower to rival the USA.

Leadership is about direction and earning respect; popularity is a nice to have. David Cameron put the United Kingdom and it's people first. History should judge him favourably.