barryqwalsh
Gold Member
- Sep 30, 2014
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Margaret Thatcher is remembered in Eastern Europe for her commitment to EU expansion, extending the European democratic space to the very countries now deemed the source of the immigration menace. In a nice coincidence, Theresa May delivered the marquee speech of her premiership to date at Lancaster House, the venue for Thatcher's address in 1988 on the potential gains to Britain of the EU's single market, of which the actual Iron Lady was a principal architect. She exhorted her audience of business leaders to seize the commercial opportunity which the politicians had created:
"Just think for a moment what a prospect that is. A single market without barriers - visible or invisible - giving you direct and unhindered access to the purchasing power of the world's wealthiest and most prosperous people. Bigger than Japan. Bigger than the United States. On your doorstep. It's not a dream. It's not a vision. It's not some bureaucrat's plan. It's for real.
"You might say: weren't we supposed to have a common market already? Wasn't that the reason we joined Europe in the first place? Weren't we promised all this in 1973?
"Europe wasn't open for business. Underneath the rhetoric, the old barriers remained. Not just against the outside world, but between the European countries. Not the classic barriers of tariffs, but the insidious ones of differing national standards, various restrictions on the provision of services, exclusion of foreign firms from public contracts. Now that's going to change. Britain has given the lead."
Iron Lady Mark II? Canonisation of Theresa May is off the mark - Independent.ie