After going to Beijing with a business entourage in toe to tell the Chinese of the advantages of a close bilateral partnerships with the UK, Cameron is now in India saying that India and the UK can form one of "the great partnerships of the 21st century". When is the UK going to accept its a small island that is no longer the center of the world. By withdrawing/standing further back from the EU, the UK becomes an even smaller and less significant voice in the world, which stands less chance of being heard. This is not the "European" century. When the great powers of the 21st C deal with Europe they are going to want to speak to one actor, not multiple small onea.

Go Dave Go!!!!

I sincerely hope so .

I don't think that it is a bad thing that the UK becomes an even more peripheral player on the world stage, but I am pretty sure that's not what his plan is? Perhaps its Hague's or maybe even the ghost of Churchill.

Since when did trade agreements and bilateral partnerships constitute empire-building?

I'm one of the (seemingly) few in favour of the UK's continued membership of the EU, but that certainly doesn't come at the exclusion of forging good relationships elsewhere.

London still top or second in terms of being world financial centre:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_centre

Mike

Which the majority of the british public receive zippo benefit from!

and neither to the Belgians!!!!

Cameron has an election to win. Nothing is actually about Europe. Keep cool.

well arguably it does. i would be for leaving the EU so that the UK could forge free trade agreements (or at least better trade agreements) with China and the US.

I am not saying that trade agreements and bilateral partnerships constitute empire-building, my entire point is that the power balance from the imperial years has reverted, but this does not seem to enter into the equation when the arguments are made that the UK needs to withdraw from the EU to negotiate trade agreements bilaterally. As the Polish Foreign Minister keeps saying the value of the EU in this century is that it will enable a collection of small states in global terms to band together and form a powerful bloc that can negotiate on relative par with China, India, Brazil etc. On its own, the UK is not going to get its voice heard on global affairs, or have the clout to negotiate the trade deals it is said that are there for the taking.

But from what I can read, Mr Cameron hopes that there will be a pro EU vote.

Just imagine the following scenario
A) Scotland secedes from the U.K.
B) England &Wales get out of the EU
C) Scotland stays a EU member
D) Wales secedes from the UK and becomes a EU member
E) Northern Ireland merges into a federalist Irish Confederation
F) England joins the Canadian Union. London becomes the new Capital of Canada
G) Greenland secedes from Denmark and joins Canada
H) The new Canada becomes a Republic
I) QEII emigrates with her folks to Jersey and continues business as the Grand Duchess of the "British Normandy" (Jersey and Guernsey united)
J) Buckingham Palace and Kensington Court Palace and Balmoral Palace are broken up', transferred to St. Helier and there built up again
K) Earl Cameron of Blackpool becomes the new state-president of the Federal Republic of Canada