The Eastleigh By-election

It is worrying that UKIP had such a strong performance. We in the UK are mistakenly fixating on blaming Europe for all our problems. Sadly, many in the UK have been negative about Europe for nearly 100 years!, - since WWI. My grandfather, as a stone mason, came to England from Germany, in 1879 and worked on some of the great buildings of London, including, Tower Bridge, The Houses of Parliament & the V&A Museum. His four sons fought in the British Army in WWI, for peace in Europe. My father (who served in the Army in Hong Kong & was captured)  fought for world peace in WWII. Europe is about keeping the peace, building strong economies & democracies in a complicated world. By working together, we in Europe can continue working for peace beyond Bosnia into Mali, Afghanistan, Syria; whilst building strong economies & trade within and beyond the EU. The UK, standing on its own cannot hope to deal with these issues. Shakespeare's image of England …….. “This precious stone set in the silver sea” may have been right for the Royal Court of Queen Elizabeth I but today isolationism would mean that the UK would become an irrelevant island if UKIP had their way.