Fax And Facts

“And here you will stay, Gandalf the Grey, and rest from journeys. For I am Saruman the Wise,Saruman the Ring-maker, Saruman of Many Colours!"  

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

David Cameron reveals his true colours, in the Telegraph by invoking an old, classic and false europhile argument:

The Prime Minister said that if the UK pulled out of the EU but wanted to keep the advantages of the single market it would be reduced to the standing of Norway, which has to abide by faxed orders from Brussels bureaucrats.

Funnily enough, in November 2012, Nick Clegg - the passionate unashamed Europhile had this to say (my emphasis):

And heading to the exit would be the surest way to diminish the UK.
Because what then?
Become the next Norway or Switzerland?
Advocates of repatriation point to these nations and say they have the best of both worlds:
Access to Europe’s markets...
Without an assault on their sovereignty.

But these countries sit and wait for bills and directives from Brussels...
Duly paying their bit, changing their laws...
But with absolutely no say over Europe’s rules:
No political representation; no national voting rights; no voice at all.
They work by fax democracy:
You find your instructions on the machine in the morning, and you follow them.
They have no meaningful sovereignty in the EU.

One comforting factor though is, that a British PM has had to resort to such tactics is a sign that the question of our membership is about to take a significant turn. It also demonstrates that scare tactics not facts will be used in desperation in order to keep Cameron et al sucking at the teat of the EU.