Before and After

Before:

Membership of the EU helps keep us safe from terrorism.

After:

It's 'not appropriate' to use the terror attacks to suggest Britain is safer outside the EU.

There you have it; a clear statement from our Prime Minister -the Prime Minister - that we should not allow facts to affect our decision on the EU.  

It is a simple and undeniable fact that free movement of people within the EU means that we must all subscribe to the standards of the weakest EU member state.  No matter what we do to improve our border security, we must allow in anyone who has been granted residence by another EU state.  Therefore, our standards are set by whichever is the easiest country to get into.

That made sense when the EU (/EEC) was a small group of close-knit nations with a similar culture and a similar outlook.  But those rules are being carried forward into an era when the EU has 28 countries ranging from the first country to industrialise its economy and the founder of capitalism all the way to a collection of ex-communist states.  On a per capita basis, their GDP is around half ours.  On the World Bank rankings for GDP, EU members span from the 4th largest economy to the 105th largest.  Cohesive?  Similar?  Don't be silly.

I think I'd rather take a leap into the dark and uncertain place occupied by the other 160 countries on the World Bank index.  The one occupied by six of the top ten and fourteen of the top twenty - both clear majorities...