We hate to say 'We told you so!'

Monday, 20th June 2011

We hate to say 'We told you so' but what is happening in Europe and Greece has a horrid fascination but comes as no surprise as UKIP has been predicting for years that the Euro project was doomed to fail.

It is like an old worn joke. There is an American, a German, a Frenchman, and a Greek. The Greek is rapidly sliding of a cliff. The American is telling the German and the Frenchman to do something, and the German and Frenchman are tied to the Greek by a thread and are shouting orders at the Greek to save himself. But on he slides. On and over the cliff. If he goes he takes the Frenchman and the German with him. All the time a Brit stands by, watching, writing ever larger cheques.

The problem is of course this isn't a joke. This is real life, and the joke is on the British taxpayer as much as it is on the Germans and French. The Greek Economy is bust, defunct. Repeated transfusions of our cash, will not resuscitate this corpse.

Although there is a way out of it the political elite of this and other EU countries refuse to accept it. The Greeks could default, leave the Euro and find their own level. This would allow them to set interest rates and wage rates that suit their economy instead of trying to emulate the Germans.

Instead, because of the terror felt in Brussels at the prospect of their beloved Euro falling apart, the taxpayers of the UK will be forced to dig even deeper into their pockets at a time when they are enduring pay freezes at best.

Chancellor George Osborne says we will not participate in a fresh bailout but one must remember that the UK also contributes to the International Monetary Fund which is also involved in the Greek rescue efforts through which it has loaned £1.9bn. And last week, in a move that received little media attention, the UK almost doubled its annual subscription to the IMF from £10bn to £19bn.

There must be no more bailouts. This must end. We have a stark choice. Money can only be spent once. Millions of people across the UK are enduring hardship and are increasingly angry at the thought of billions of pounds potentially going overseas to bailout other EU countries through the IMF or other means.

We are facing redundancies across the country. And for what? To keep the ambitions of the Euro elite to control the Continent alive.

Nothing more.