Tens of thousands of foreign investors have chosen Britain as a base from which to export to Europe.Today no serious business figure would disagree that Britain is better off in Europe, and these days even most trade unionists, and the Labour Party, are in favour. In the modern world it is only right and sensible that we should share our sovereignty with our European neighbours for the greater benefit of all. Those who claim that this country could go it alone and still continue to “punch above its weight”, as they put it, are doing the United Kingdom a great disservice. We might be able to survive economically, but the loss of influence on the world stage would be huge. This country would become increasingly marginalised in world affairs. Unfortunately there are still those who continue to oppose our membership of the European Union These fanatical opponents will never give up They had two bites at the cherry in the 1970s and lost They had a wealthy man fund the Referendum Party and lost. They staged a coup in the Conservative Party and again were rejected by the electorate.Now they are focusing their attention on the euro.

It is my view that if we are serious about our future in Europe, and particularly the single market, then we will have to join the euro. Many of the benefits of the past 30 years will be at risk if we do not We cannot be half in the single market and half out We cannot be half in Europe and half out. For the second time in a quarter of a century the British people are going to be asked to vote on whether or not this country can remain a committed player in Europe. A “no” vote will permanently relegate us to the second division of European nations. I look forward to campaigning vigorously for a “yes” vote.Once this question is decided perhaps we can finally settle ourselves into being a major European player – the path on which I set our country all those years ago.Sir Edward Heath was Conservative prime minister from 1970-74. The United Kingdom joined the European Community under his leadership in 1973..

What could be nicer at this time of year than a winter break on the Red Sea? I’m sure that Sharm el-Sheikh makes a pleasant change from Downing Street, and at least Tony and Cherie Blair are paying for their holiday this year. Last December their trip to the same Egyptian resort was paid for by the country’s President, Hosni Mubarak, and the inevitable bad publicity prompted the Prime Minister to make an equivalent donation to charity.
This year, the family is staying in the same hotel, but in private apartments rather than the special government wing. No official talks have been scheduled but the President has a villa at the resort, and the two men may meet to discuss the conference that Blair will host in London next month in a new attempt to find a settlement in the Middle East.Nothing wrong with that, you might say, especially when the Bush administration has sidelined the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in order to pursue its obsessive feud with Iraq. But I would love to know whether the Prime Minister, as well as reading up on the resort’s many attractions – diving, camel treks, visits to Mount Sinai – has bothered to acquaint himself with the dreadful human-rights record of his host.It is a dismal story of torture, censorship and corruption, stretching back over two decades and filling thousands of pages of United Nations reports. It also raises the question of whether the Prime Minister – especially this one, with his self-imposed mission to promote democracy and human rights – can afford the luxury of behaving like any other tourist when it comes to choosing a holiday destination.I am aware that thousands of British visitors turn up in Egypt each year to see the pyramids, take Nile cruises or lie on a beach.