AP Photo

Forty years ago today, the United Kingdom joined what was then called the European Economic Community. Where is the celebratory bunting? Why do we not run up those blue flags with gold stars on them and whistle Beethoven’s Ode to Joy? The fact that we are not commemorating what by any measure was a momentous occasion in our national story speaks volumes about our semi-detached relationship with Europe. Almost from the day Edward Heath walked us up the aisle, this has been a loveless marriage with which we have struggled to come to terms.