Only an ungrateful nation could forget the debt we owe to the
King of Brobdingnag and his timely advice to Mr Gulliver. Had he
not been so kind as to remind us of our obligations to the needy,
we might never had engaged upon a project which must surely rank
among our most enduring sources of pride. Indeed, so diligent has
England's discharge of these duties been that she now spends more
money on this enterprise than she could ever hope to recoup.
Malicious tongues among us have suggested that credit for this
accomplishment should rest wholly with the good offices of the
European Union and its Common Agricultural Policy. Nothing could
be further from the truth. We have achieved this breakthrough
only by means of centuries of patriotic endeavour and the
national sacrifice. For, as our historians have now established,
upon returning to England Mr Gulliver wasted no time in
promulgating the monarch's wise words. Scarcely had he set foot
once more on his native soil than politicians of all persuasions
began to abandon the self-interested pursuit of wealth and power
and devote themselves to the welfare of the people.