Cameron Left UK More Vulnerable to the EU

There are many puzzles about the British government's tactics at last week's EU summit. One is why it chose to identify the City of London as the "vital national interest" that needed special protection. The City, after all, is the most unpopular "national champion" that the UK possesses. It accounts for a smaller share of UK GDP and employment than the manufacturing sector (yes, you read that right). And the era of "light touch" financial regulation in the UK has in any case drawn to a close: since the global financial crisis, the UK has implemented many reforms before they were adopted at EU level; and in some areas the UK has gone further than other EU countries are prepared to contemplate (unlike the UK, no other EU country has plans to separate the retail and investment banking operations of its banks).