Brexit 'clears way' for German domination claims Heseltine

The UK is handing control of Europe’s destiny to Germany by leaving the EU, Lord Heseltine has claimed.

The Tory peer, sacked as a government adviser after defying the whip over Brexit, said the Germans had lost World War Two but the UK was now giving them the “opportunity to win the peace”.

Not only would Brexit alter the balance of power in Europe, he suggested that for many people of his generation, the UK’s decision might be regarded as a betrayal of the country’s fight against the Nazis. […]

He dismissed those who argue Britain’s standing in the world would be unaffected by EU withdrawal, saying the UK would lose its ability to act as a bridge between both the Commonwealth and the US and Europe. “The Americans will shift the focus of their interest to Germany.” …

Not sure where Heseltine’s attention has been focused, but Germany’s been in charge for years, through the ECB, the Euro, and the fact that they are the largest and most viable economy in the EU. And they’ve gotten back to what they used to be best known for, arrogance and prideful dominance over their inferior neighbors. BREXIT is the tunnel out of Merkel’s Stalag with Britain volunteering to wiggle through and be the first out beyond the wire.

...thinking that the UK could continue to influence the EU from within after all the years of not doing so, and even being overruled when attempting to do so...

That's rather a sweeping generalisation, and it hasn't always been the case. There's been no shortage of times in the past when other EU countries, particularly France during the Blair years, were complaining that the UK had too much influence rather than too little.

It's impossible to quantify, of course, not least because about 90% of Council of Ministers decisions are arrived at by consensus without a vote. But you can point to the various EU measures which originated in existing UK national legislation or which were promoted by British Commissioners (in areas such as farm animal health, industrial health and safety etc.), and British Commissioners have occupied some of the most influential posts in the Commission (Mandelson Trade, Patten External Relations, Jenkins and Kinnock President and Vice-President etc.)

It's certainly true than in recent years on the occasions when there has been a vote in the CoM, the UK has been on the losing side more often than any other member state. But that was very different before 2009 - which was again the period when there were those complaints about excessive British influence...

That's rather a sweeping generalisation, and it hasn't always been the case. There's been no shortage of times in the past when other EU countries, particularly France during the Blair years, were complaining that the UK had too much influence rather than too little.

Yes: that has always been a popular lie out of the pro-EU left; any time the UK asserts its sovereignty and does not submit to regulations that are too draconian (within the left-wing scope that the EU wishes to project), they are suddenly wielding too great of influence and need to be taken down a peg or several. France with its affinity for Germany over the decades shows itself particularly mendacious here.

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