Voters in Britain’s referendum need to understand that the European Union was about building a federal superstate from day one<\/strong><\/p>\n As the debate over the forthcoming EU referendum gears up, it would be wise perhaps to remember how Britain was led into membership in the first place. It seems to me that most people have little idea why one of the victors of the Second World War should have become almost desperate to join this “club”. That’s a shame, because answering that question is key to understanding why the EU has gone so wrong.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Most students seem to think that Britain was in dire economic straits, and that the European Economic Community \u2013 as it was then called \u2013\u00a0provided an economic engine which could revitalise our economy<\/a>. Others seem to believe that after the Second World War Britain needed to recast her geopolitical position away from empire, and towards a more realistic one at the heart of Europe. Neither of these arguments, however, makes any sense at all.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n