Superbrits march up to Ally Pally to look down on the foul Eurothreat

YOU could have bottled the Dunkirk spirit at the Referendum Party's election rally yesterday, as Sir James Goldsmith unveiled the 550, candidates he hopes will save Britain from ruin.

With the firmness of purpose that marked that last great retreat "from Europe, the party's supporters thronged London's Alexandra Palace to hear their leader and a succession of speakers warn of the grave threat that faced the nation, if a referendum on European integration could not be won.

They wrapped themselves in the flag, they sang a gospel style song of salvation, and they thrilled to reminders of the evil villains Britain had faced down in the past: people like Napoleon, Hitler and, of course, Edward Heath.

Like the Grand Old Duke of York, Sir James Goldsmith - marched his thousands of troops up the steep hill on which the palace stands, overlooking London. It was an appropriately high vantage point from which the party could survey their enemies, and pour vitriol on them.

Some of the hashest words were reserved for the enemy within. The Four H men of the Apocalypse - Heath, Howe, Hurd and Heseltine - came in for special treatment as, along with Kenneth Clarke, they were accused of attempting to force Britain into "craven subjection to an external power, a fate this country has avoided for 931 years".

But oldfashioned bashing of Johnny Foreigner was not in short supply either. While faceless Eurocrats were the target of much criticism, the real enemy had a face one with a small black moustache.

When one speaker reminded the gathering of how "we fought the Spanish when we had to fought the French when we had to and twice fought off the mighty Germans, it was the latter reminder which brought spontaneous applause.

On a similar note Andrew Roberts, who describes himself as a "visceral lifelong Eurosceptic", speculated on how Britain would have to seek the approval of the Germans and others to send another task force to free the Falklands.

But he reserved special disdain for the thought of having to ask the Belgians, who had refused support to Britain during the Gulf War against "friendly Saddam".

Less jingoistically, the actor Edward Fox called for prayers, while another celebrity, the botanist David Bellamy, told the gathering he would be voting for the very first time in a British general election when he casts his ballot on May 1st. Presumably he will vote for himself, because he is a candidate for the party in Huntingdon, John Major's constituency.

Out in the overflow hall, the combination of Bellamy's unique delivery and a public address system almost as hairy as he made his words close to completely unintelligible.

But they cheered him anyway, especially when he reduced his arguments about the Common Fisheries Policy and "energy guzzling "agribusiness" to more concrete realities, like the threat to the traditional British fish and chips.

Why, he asked them, was their fish getting smaller and costing more? There was only one answer to that, as there was to most questions asked yesterday.

The succession of speakers was relieved occasionally by a video. One such featured a grave voice detailing the gradual loss of British sovereignty in the EU, accompanied by a gruesome visual of extracted teeth being dropped into a receptacle.

"It's time to bite back," the voice concluded, as the film faded out on the grim face of a bulldog. The audience loved it.

There were many specific arguments voiced against the European Union, but the key note was sounded by Andrew Roberts. He got the biggest cheer of the day when he said that even if it were proved he would be better off in a federal Europe, "I'd still prefer to be worse off, but British and free".

Observers who sensed a certain tribalism in yesterday's gathering were not being overly fanciful. Mr Roberts evoked the notion when he quoted the Roman historian Tacitus who, writing about the ancient Britons, said that while much of their decision making was left to the chiefs, the major questions were decided by the whole tribe.

On the question of Europe, he said, "the chiefs have debated long enough. It's time for the tribe to decide".