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October 1971
been taken, all those attitudes will
change. We'Jl say: "Well, we've taken
this step and we've got to get on with
it."
Q.
Do you
think
Britain would lose
her nacional ideotity by becoming a
member-state of the Commoo Mar–
ket?
A.
Oh, no. Look at Scotland. Scot–
laod has been united with England
since 1707 in a union iofinitely doser
than anything contemplated in the
Corrumm Market. Well, you'd be a
brave man if you went to Edinburgh
and said that Scotland had lost her
national identity. And we've got a num–
ber of races and nations in the United
Kingdom anyhow. After all we've been
for so long in England ruJed by the
Scots, infested by the Welsh, and
plagued by the lrish. So 1 mean we're
quite used to this situation.
Q.
Wbat about Britain's cberisbed
tradition of parliamentary democracy,
her outlook on personal freedom and
other uniquely Britisb concepts?
Would a United Europe cbange all
that?
A.
No.
J
think that's exactly what
we have to contribute to a United
Europe. One mustn't regard the parlia–
mentary tradition as sornething which
one hoards and guards like a dragon
guarding a jewel. This is precisely our
dowry, as it were, for a United Europe.
We must share this thing. We must
strengthen Europe with this particular
and very important contribution. After
all, we've done it before. We have
exported parliamentary democracy all
over the world.
Q .
France, Germany and Italy have
all experimented with other forros of
government. Democracy in these
countries has vanished in the past
50 years aod then reappeared. Could
it happen again?
A.
Who knows? One never knows
about continental nations, but perhaps
they have come to realize that de–
rnocracy is the best forro of govern–
rnent in any case. From our point of
view 1 think the iroportant thing is to
preserve democracy in Europe.
If
democracy on the continent goes we suf·
fer anyhow.
So
it's much better to take a
positive view to do all we can to
The
PLAIN TRUTH
strengthen it rather than standing out–
side, raising our hands in horror, and
saying "Don't come anywhere near us,
we don't want to be contaminated by
you."
Q .
If
Britain does join the Common
Market, what would happen to the
unique special relationship between
the United States and Britain? The
United States helped rescue Britain
in two world wars - and those wars,
incidentally, involved Britain and
Common Market member Germany
in opposite corners.
A.
Well,
1
think the unique special
relationship in the sense of a unique
political relationship has grown less
and less important as the years have
passed. What is important are the cul·
tural ties and the links of language.
Those can never be destroyed. It's a his·
torical, cultural relationship, a shared
relationship of ideals aod language that
will always remain. That's why, of
9
course, poor General De Gaulle was so
annoyed, because he knew that that
could never be destroyed.
Q.
With Britain inside the Com–
munity, do you envision a change in
the way of life for the British
people?
A.
Well, it's not so much a change
in the way of life, but a new per–
spective on the way of life. lt's rather
like the ecumenical movement for union
between the churches. Everyone is afraid
of losing their own way of life, their
own way of religion. In fact, after
you've been in the ecumenical move·
ment as
J
have been for some time you
find that nobody loses, everyone gains.
You keep those things that are impor·
tant to you; you gain something else.
1
think it'll be the same in the Common
Market - we'll keep our own way of
life, but we'll add certain things to it.
Things may be improved - English
cooking may get better.
The Case
Against
Britain's
Membership
PLAIN TRUTH correspondents interviewed
James
McMillan,
the Chief Editorial Writer of the
Daily
Express
in London,
and
an
outspoken
opponent
of British membership in the
Common
Market. The following
are excerpts
of that
interview.
Q.
Mr. McMillan, why do you
be–
lieve Great Britain sbould stay out
of the Common Market?
A.
Because the Common Market is
basically an organization continental in
scope, continental in its views. Britain is
an island with worldwide trading con–
nections which cannot easily be fitted
into this continental pattern.
1t
was
Churchill who said,
"If
ever the time
comes when we have to choose between
Europe and the open sea, we will
always choose the open sea."
1
think
that still pertains today.
Q .
Sorne people claim Britain can
only retain ber political influence in
Europe by working within the Com–
mon Market. ls that true?
A.
lt's a good argurnent. It
is
the For–
eign Office argument, the official Estab–
lishment argument that if we don't go
in we will become a poor offshore is–
land with an advanced industrial tech·
nology and no captive market to sustain