[dropcap type=”circle”]H[/dropcap]eswall born Sir Ian Botham has thrown his not inconsiderable beefiness behind the campaign to leave the European Union.
Having considered the arguments of the OUT and NOT OUT lobbies Sir Ian has concluded that the British public should give the finger (in the umpiring sense, naturally) to the Union and send it back to the pavilion of history. Writing in the Sunday Times he says, “It’s time to stand proud and reclaim our power from Brussels.”
The Sky Sports cricket commentary team of Beefy, Athers, Naz and Bumble is not known for its political musings, though David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd’s trademark cry of, “Start the car!” makes him an ideal candidate for Secretary of State for Transport.
However, Sir Ian is confident enough to take a mighty, cross batted swipe at European bureaucracy and law making. “They bill us for £350 million a week, a sum which I find staggering – that is £50 million every single day…We have lost the right to govern ourselves, to make our own laws and to choose who comes here.”
Sir Ian’s declaration represents a fast, in-swinging yorker right in the blockhole as far as Prime Minister David Cameron is concerned, for Botham represents a play hard but fair, common sense approach to life and politics which many Britons find appealing.
Botham describes the European Union as a “racket” but any possibility of confusing it with tennis is dispelled when he states, “Cricket is a game where you achieve the greatest success when you are confident in your own ability to go out and stand proud. Britain has that spirit. It is time to reclaim our basic sovereignty, the power to decide for ourselves. This proud trading nation must take back control from the bureaucrats in Brussels and make our way in the world once again, with confidence. That is why I am going to vote ‘leave’.”
Sir Ian’s is not the only recent sporting contribution to the debate. Yesterday number 10 brought Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, on to the field to express his belief that Britain should remain. Clearly Frenchman Wenger is a thoughtful man and his desire that the Gunners should always play ‘the beautiful game’ has won him many admirers, but it is unlikely he has any influence on those of us who are swaying or completely undecided.
Perhaps, instead of a referendum, the argument over our future in or out of Europe could be settled this way – by two partisan teams, captained by Botham and Wenger, playing a game of French Cricket.
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