Boris Johnson says: give Thatcher the Nobel

Nearly twenty years ago, Boris Johnson - whose first byline in The Daily Telegraph was under his real name, Alexander Johnson - was that paper's Brussels Correspondent. His energetic dispatches positively sizzled with Euroscepticism, and soon he was reputed to be Margaret Thatcher's favourite journalist (though the claim is probably something of an exaggeration). In his Telegraph column today, Boris pays homage to the former Prime Minister, saying that she rather than the EU "understood the route to peace in the Europe". Here's a little sniff of it:

"It is often said that two democracies have never been to war with one another. But when you make a mockery of democracy, and effectively hand tax and spending decisions to a foreign power, then you are creating the conditions for serious mischief. Vince Cable yesterday warned of “absolutely incalculable” consequences if the eurozone should rupture – but what does he think is happening now? We are already seeing neo-fascist parties in Athens and the agony of Greece is unabated."

And he goes on: "All this Baroness Thatcher foresaw. She warned in her 1988 Bruges speech of the dangers of trying to create Identikit Europeans, when the peoples of EU nations were so different in their habits and productivity. She warned of a one-size-fits-all monetary policy and she spoke out strongly against the lack of democracy in the project. She has been completely vindicated."