'Outers' haven't been moaning about the EU for 40 years, not least because it hasn't existed for 40 years. It didn't legally exist until Jan 1st, 1993 on the activation of the Maastricht treaty. Which, by the way, was when the four 'freedoms' were implemented, including the ever-so controversial free movement of people. Prior to that, it was the EEC/Common Market, with roots in the ECSC, which is what the people of the UK voted on. Maastricht radically changed what the EEC was, and Lisbon radically changed it again.
Leavers and Europsceptics have been moaning about the EEC / EU for 40 years, pretty much ever since Britain joined the EEC in 1973. They even blamed the EEC for the terrible tyranny of the decimal system, even though this was implemented before we joined the EEC.
Battling with the EEC (as it was then) and moaning in the British press about Europe was a constant feature of the Thatcher years, a time when a lot of the crazier Euromyths were born. Thatcher had a lot of trouble with Eurosceptics in her governments throughout the 1980s.
But of course it was John Major's administration which had the worst of it, particularly with the exit from the ERM and the fuss surrounding the Maastricht treaty in 1992. A period rife with Euroscepticism and constant moaning in the press.
And since Maastricht it's only got louder of course.
So none of this is anything new. It's been going on since Day 1, it's been a constant and never-changing stream of negativity about Europe. Some of it justified of course. A lot of it not. Much of it whipped up by the British media who have always had an unfailingly toxic anti-European stance. And all this constantly endorsed by Eurosceptic elements of the political parties, mostly on the right but not exclusively.
It's hardly surprising that this constant barrage of negativity has brought us to where we are with Brexit. Britain has never fully engaged with Europe in the past 40 years, not at any point. Always reluctant, always with opt outs, special vetoes, rebates, special clauses and of course never fully integrated into the Euro or political systems (nor was Europe demanding that the UK should be). All these concessions and yet still the UK moaned and moaned.
The UK never really gave Europe a chance by fully committing to it. The UK might like to think it did, but it didn't. Not even close.
so why do you think the remainers aren't equally justified in doing the same?
