Since the Prime Minister chose to invoke the idea that as a nation – he meant, I suspect, the English, not the Scots or the Welsh – we are so freedom-loving that we choose not to obey rules passed in our collective interest, it is worth considering what exactly he meant by this. It is an interesting national stereotype. Not for the first time, I have wondered if he models himself on the Anglo-Saxons in their contest against the Normans. As a child brought up in Brussels, he is probably well versed in the views of Asterix towards the Romans. See Julian Baggini on the topic:-
| Charles | Saumarez | Smith | 