Brexit reaching parliamentary climax in the self-harming UK

FUTURE historians will wonder why British politicians caused a great nation to self-harm over its European Union membership.

Brexit Tory MPs contend that a sovereign UK needs to be free from the "shackles" of a EU that desperately needs reform. Several nations such as Greece, Italy and Spain have suffered under the Eurozone regime. But Britain is not in the eurozone and Brexit means that it is departing from its nearest and biggest market.

Over the years, young and old in the UK have gained from the single market's unfettered trade and opportunities ranging from business, science and the arts. Moreover, the UK has attracted billions of pounds in job-creating foreign investment as business people around the world have regarded it as the English-speaking gateway to the European market. Indeed, it was Margaret Thatcher, a severe critic of EU controls and bureaucracy, who spelled out the Union's advantages in a speech in 1988: "Just think for a moment what a prospect that is. A single market without barriers - visible or invisible - giving you direct and unhindered access to the purchasing power of (over 500 million) of the world's wealthiest and most prosperous people.