Since we haven’t been subjected to enough op-eds from frothing, swivel-eyed Europhiles over the past couple of weeks, up steps Peter Mandelson in the Telegraph to tell us why we should be staying in Europe:

“All the party leaders need to make clear that quitting the EU would be a colossal indulgence. It might fill many with a sense of pride in Britain’s separateness, but it would also mean greater isolation, less trade, smaller influence and fewer friends. In the globalised economy of the 21st century, where production networks and supply chains stretch far across national borders, size – of markets, trading power and negotiating clout – matters more than ever. An isolationist Britain would be weaker and more vulnerable. That must not be our destiny – and the Prime Minister’s job, along with Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg, is to say so, loudly and firmly.”

Definitely nothing to with EU rules dictating that the former commissioner must maintain a “duty of loyalty” or be stripped of his £31,000-a-year index-linked pension worth over half a million pounds. As ever with Mandy, just follow the money…