EFTA

When the last New Labour Government were in office, Harold Wilson ran a 'Buy British' scheme. This prompted a series of adverts from the Swedish car-maker, Volvo with the theme of 'Buy British, Buy Volvo'. This was not quite what Wilson had intended. But as the Volvo adverts pointed out, some 80% of each Volvo car came out of the British Midlands...courtesy of a very dynamic automotive component sector, a long tradition of engineering excellence and the good offices of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).

EFTA is still around, although presently engaged in little more than swapping fish between Iceland and Norway. But this will change. A few years from now there will be a lot of countries in East and West Europe queuing up for membership.

EFTA was always what the Swedes and Brits needed out of Europe by way of trade. And for other purposes, there were other organisations each individually doing a much better job than the Brussels Common Mark-Up will ever do with its bloated bureaucratic ways and its socialist fetish for detailed regulation and total uniformity under the guise of 'harmonisation'.

Perhaps EFTA should offer a special membership package for city states. Ken Livingstone as Lord Mayor of London would be the first to apply. Back to the feudal system with variable geometry and no single focus of ultimate power. Why not? All power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. So spread it about a bit.