There is just a chance that the last few weeks have revealed Cameron in his true colours: very stupid (which we knew already) and extremely unpleasant (which we suspected). So stupid is he, and so unpleasant, that there is now a good chance that LEAVE (or BREXIT) will win the referendum.

This puts a whole new complexion on the face of the future. Aspects of what might develop are now worth pondering.

Let us take a good look at the relationship between this island and that continent. It is close, but not that close: twenty miles of dangerous and turbulent water prevent any sort of cosy intimacy between us and it. That is convenient at this time – it allows both sides room to manoeuvre and a certain tranquillity in which to chew the cud. As follows…

Britain will never be in any mood to take orders from Germany, after what happened in the 30s and 40s of the last century.

Britain will never be in any mood to take orders from France, or Italy, after what happened in the 1940s. The facts of the case are less well known but are facts for all that: France and Italy were the only European countries to do business with Herr Hitler.

Britain loves all three countries mentioned above, because they are full of charm, beauty, art, literature, mountains and lakes and lovely people. The same applies, more or less, to the rest of Europe. However the mainland Europeans do seem to have recurring problems in the leadership department, and that is why taking orders from any of them goes against the British grain.

This is relevant to the present crisis: the EU is currently trying to turn itself into an empire by extending the franchise at a pace and with an energy which many find unwise and possibly irresponsible. The larger that empire becomes, the heavier will be the weight which the centre will impose on the constituent parts – and extra weight from that centre is a prospect that Britain finds seriously unattractive.

The alternative is an independent Britain and a Europe that can do its own thing without the involvement of a dissident member parked off its shores on the far side of that turbulent twenty miles of dangerous water.

Now factor in the NATO alliance: 28 of the best and bravest countries in the world united in their determination to encourage, maintain and defend the happiness of its member states.

Look at the list: Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, CANADA, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, FRANCE, GERMANY, Greece. Hungary, Iceland, ITALY, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, THE UNITED KINGDOM,  THE UNITED STATES. 

28 of the best, bravest, strongest and richest, and among the 28 you will find France, Germany, Italy, and Britain, in a relationship not unlike the one they have in the EU.  If Britain left the EU, the NATO connection would be as strong as ever, perhaps stronger.

So what does BREXIT imply? It implies that if the crunch comes in any shape or form, Britain and her European cousins can rely on  NATO, the best brotherhood on the planet, to which they all belong.  And if crunchtime did come, an independent Britain would not be just another (rather grumpy) unit in a rag-bag of European units which have spent the last thousand years ducking and diving to avoid national and international obligations. Britain would be a big player, leading from the front, and providing the vital link with America and Canada. 

What am I suggesting? I am suggesting that if Britain leaves the EU, it will be far more useful to the EU as an influential member of NATO than it will be if it stays in the EU and hates every minute of it. 

It may just turn out to be the case that, by driving the British people to BREXIT , the  worst Prime Minister Britain has ever had will have done his country and the continent of Europe an enormous favour.  

Roll on the Referendum.