by Alfred Wells
Then: After the speech, a generic mob of fork-wielding peasants bursts into the chamber and carries Gordon Brown to the nearest guillotine. Daniel Hannan MEP duly receives an important government posting.
Now: The peasants are too busy watching TV or claiming benefits. Charismatic Hannan languishes in an inert Parliament designed mainly for futile nagging, bothering any of the Europhile parliamentarians who are not taking a four-day weekend or fiddling their travel expenses instead.