Voters worried about migration are ‘parochial’, claims Hague
WILLIAM Hague was accused of betrayal last night after claiming it would be ‘irresponsible’ to vote for Britain to leave the EU.
The former Tory leader dismissed concerns about mass immigration as ‘parochial’ and said Brexit could spark the ‘disintegration’ of the UK.
Lord Hague, one of David Cameron’s closest political allies, has made innumerable outspoken attacks on the EU over the years, warning in 1998 that the creation of the euro would take the organisation ‘well beyond acceptable limits’.
And his avowed Euroscepticism has been credited with helping him to win the Tory leadership in 1997 against pro-EU veteran Kenneth Clarke.
But in a speech at the Chatham House think-tank in London yesterday he said he now believed it was ‘undoubtedly’ better to remain in the EU.
Tory MPs voiced dismay at the abrupt change, and warned it would shred Lord Hague’s credibility. Stewart Jackson said: ‘Many of us who stood shoulder to shoulder with William Hague when he was party leader through the dark days of 2001 will be saddened by his reincarnation as a mouthpiece for the undemocratic EU establishment and his advocacy for uncontrolled mass immigration including that from Turkey. I’m afraid his reputation for straight talking has taken a hit in the EU referendum campaign.’
Tory MEP David Campbell Bannerman described Lord Hague’s intervention as ‘very disappointing’. He added: ‘He’s played the Eurosceptic for many years and I think in his heart he probably is, but he’s decided to fudge it. But the real choice now is sovereignty or superstate – we won’t get this chance again.
‘William Hague has now come down on the side of superstate, despite all that he has said in the past. He’s a great guy, but he’s got this badly wrong.’
Former Tory Cabinet minister John Redwood questioned Lord Hague’s record as a Eurosceptic, saying that his time as foreign secretary had not lived up to the anti-EU rhetoric of his years in opposition.
‘His judgment is extraordinarily faulty on this, but I’m not sure he was ever a proper Eurosceptic – he spent his time as foreign secretary in denial about power grabs by Brussels,’ the MP said. ‘He never stood up to Brussels and he was the midwife to the birth of a number of transfers of power from Westminster to the EU.’
Yesterday, Lord Hague insisted he remained an ‘outright Eurosceptic’, but said staying in the EU was ‘the lesser of two evils’. He said: ‘I’m the first to say Europe isn’t perfect – I’ve spent my political life standing up to it. But for all its imperfections, it protects jobs and boosts our standing and power in the world.
‘Let me tell you straight, as someone who’s an outright Eurosceptic, leaving the European Union would be downright irresponsible.’
Stressing that immigration was ‘not the issue’ on which people should decide how to vote, he said: ‘I think when we raise our eyes from the parochial concerns and look at those challenges over the next 20 to 30 years, that is something that has changed compared to ten or 20 years ago.’
Echoing concerns raised by the Prime Minister, Lord Hague said: ‘We are entering an age in which the world is subject to greater political and economic risk than we have experienced in recent decades.
‘To add to those risks at a time of uncertainty without any clear idea as to what the alternative plan might be, is irresponsible and potentially dangerous. The idea that we can leave the EU without any serious economic consequences for jobs and businesses in Britain, and somehow have more money to spend on the NHS and other services at the same time, is a total fantasy.’
Lord Hague also warned that a Brexit vote would increase the prospects of Scottish independence and have serious consequences for the UK’s overseas territories including Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands.
‘How ironic it would be if people thought there was something patriotic or particularly pro-British about leaving the EU only to discover that it led to the disintegration of our country and dealt a permanent blow to overseas territories who look to us for leadership and protection,’ he said.