#brexit or #ues2eu ? - "We believe in our own democracy. They see #Europe as the symbol of a liberal democracy"

Image from wikipedia

This posts title is a quote from @BBCRadio4 's "The Reunion" programme on the Maastricht Treaty

In that programme Sue MacGregor is joined Lord Lamont  a former chancellor, Ken Clarke who replaced him, the Government Whip responsible for Europe, David Davies, and Conservative backbencher Sir Bill Cash, a prominent Euro-rebel, as well as John Major's Private Secretary for Foreign Affairs and later the Official Historian on Britain's Relationship with Europe, Sir Stephen Wall.

At the 39:24 time mark in the programme David Davies says the following on the reasons why the UK is different from many of the other countries in the EU.....

"
- the Germans and Italians came into the original Iron & Steel community from a dictatorship,

- the Spainards came in from Franco,

- the Portuguese came in from Katana,

- the Greeks came in from the Colonels,

- Eastern Europe came in from under the jackboot of Soviet domination,

- We came in after 150 years of liberal democracy that worked quite well.

So our attitude to Europe is not the same as theirs.  

We believe in our own democracy.

They see Europe as the symbol of a liberal democracy.

Its a very different viewpoint."