Nick Clegg blames ‘sneering’ Eurocrats for Brexit

Nick Clegg has launched a searing attack on the Brussels elite – blaming their ‘sneering’ attitude for Brexit.

The former deputy prime minister, a prominent Europhile, complained that the drive for ‘ever-closer integration’ had been a ‘terrible misreading’ of public opinion.

The damning assessment came as the Liberal Democrat ex-leader gave a speech at an event hosted by a Brussels think-tank.

Mr Clegg said when he worked in Brussels there had been a ‘a barely-concealed, almost sneering disregard for the politics of identity and the politics of patriotism’.

‘There was an assumption that patriotism was an old-fashioned vestige of an order that was dying away,’ he said.

‘The genesis of European integration was to go above and beyond the trap of patriotic politics.

‘But it was a terrible misreading of what makes people tick. 

‘We are all tribal people. You might not like it, but that’s who we are.’

Mr Clegg argued that populism could only be countered by combining patriotism with pro-Europeanism.

‘Internationalist liberals are now beginning to understand that while standing for Europe, you must do so wrapped in your own flag,’ he said.

‘Patriotic Europeanism is a perfectly consistent and compelling school of thought.’

However, the former MP also berated Brexiteers, accusing them of launching an ‘ideological coup’ to force the UK out of the bloc.

The push for ever-closer integration was long regarded as a problem for the UK, with the single currency in particular causing major ructions in the relationship.

The Leave campaign’s vow during the referendum to ‘take back control’ from Brussels was viewed as having struck a chord with voters.

Since Brexit senior Eurocrats including Jean-Claude Juncker have called for more the EU to respond by integrating more closely.

Since Brexit senior Eurocrats including Jean-Claude Juncker have called for more the EU to respond by integrating more closely (file picture)