Britain may prosper by loosening its ties with Brussels, William Hague says today as he blames Liberal Democrats for cramping the Conservatives on Europe. The Foreign Secretary uses an interview with The Times to throw his weight behind Tory Eurosceptics who want to recast the relationship with the European Union. He raises the prospect of Britain standing increasingly apart from the EU core. “It’s true of the euro, it could be true of more areas in future,” he says. “In fact we may get ahead as a result of being outside.” And the former Tory leader, who in 2001 fought the most aggressively Eurosceptic election campaign of the past three decades, adds that his opposition to the single currency has been vindicated by events. The creation of the eurozone without its members being bound by closer tax and spending rules was “always a giant mistake”, he says. “It will stand as a monument in time to how groupthink can go so seriously away from what is realistic.” More here (subscription required)
