I have been following (it seems for most of my life) the paroxysms of the Conservative Party over Europe. Stemming as they do from men and women who live in history, the ineluctable arguments to leave the European Union bubble up through the ranks on a regular basis, spewing out on the floor of the House of Commons, wrong footing party leaders.
In the main there are those who see Europe as a bind, as an ancient enemy and would much rather ally themselves to America. The European union is mainland Europe’s answer to war and as the British like to remind everyone, but for the UK Europe would be Nazi today. The idea that the UK also has to pay good money to Belgium and be told what to do by men and women who were elected by Italians, French and Germans, rankles like a vomitory medicine. There are of course, millions of Commonwealth citizens who feel the same way about the UK.
I was a great fan of the Star Trek ideas of human beings having no countries and no need of personal wealth apart from intellectual, but we are a long, long way from any such ideas in the Conservative Party. It is a party of privilege and most importantly for them, of personal property. The UK is personal property and they don’t want anyone else ruling over it even with interesting and worthwhile laws.
The idea of one world is anathema to them unless it is ruled by a business in which they own shares.