Britain tackles the welfare state

„Almost half the Conservative members of Parliament were first elected in 2010 and, like Republican members of the U.S. House first elected that year, these Conservatives have a Tea Party-like indifference to conventional pieties, the worst of which celebrate the European Union. Such has been the leakage of Britain’s sovereignty to Brussels, Cameron’s ability to deregulate his nation’s economy is significantly circumscribed. Only 22 percent of the British consider E.U. membership a »good thing,” now that the E.U. is busy transferring wealth to those who do not create it.

With a wary eye on Greece, and a possible contagion from it to Italy, Spain, Portugal and others, Osborne fears a »sovereign debt rerun« of the financial crisis triggered by the September 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers. He also worries that Britain might be unfairly tainted by Asian and other investors deciding that »Europe is a basket case.«

Well, yes. The Economist reports that three weeks ago, at an emergency meeting of eurozone leaders, Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank, distributed a ranking of countries deemed by markets most likely to default: »Greece, Portugal and Ireland were at the top, riskier than Venezuela and Pakistan; Spain was less safe than revolutionary Egypt.« Next year may be cheerier. London will host the Olympics, and the nation will celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee — 60 years of her reign. This year, however, the refurbishing of Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle has been deferred.”