http://www.economicsuk.com/blog/000126.html

"In his Whitehall office, a cabinet minister was bemoaning the fact that the government does not get enough credit for cutting unemployment — which last week dropped to 860,000, its lowest for nearly 30 years.

There have been plenty of articles, it was pointed out to him, that contrast Britain's low unemployment with the high jobless totals in Europe."

"Britain's unemployment rate, on a comparable basis, is 4.8%, against 9.4% in France and 9.8% in Germany. Unemployment stands at under half the EU average.

Per capita gross domestic product in Britain, according to a new report from Capital Economics, is higher at $30,200 (£16,440), than Germany's $29,200 or France's $28,500.

The economic momentum is with us. Britain has been growing continuously for 12 years, during which time other EU countries have suffered at least one recession and in some cases two. The sick man of Europe has made a remarkable recovery.

"The divergence in economic performance between the main continental economies and us began about 10 years ago and will continue for the foreseeable future unless we get dragged down by the constitution and the charter of fundamental human rights," said Ian Milne, a businessman and author for the think tank Civitas. "

"The CBI, once regarded as unquestioningly pro-EU, is increasingly critical. "The model that took the EU through the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s is now failing the people of Europe," said Digby Jones, its director-general.

"It is not British arrogance or Little Englander to say this. Britain has taken some very hard decisions over the past 25 years, both the Tories and Labour, and these policies have delivered the most successful economy in Europe.

"I don't blame anybody who says, 'We're not going to give up on this'. So much of what I see coming out of Brussels wants to take us back to 1970." "