Europe has helped to destroy five of the past six Conservative prime ministers: Harold Macmillan, Edward Heath, Margaret Thatcher, John Major and now David Cameron. It was not meant to be like this.
欧洲已经帮忙毁掉了英国过去六位保守党首相中的五位：哈罗德•麦克米伦(Harold Macmillan)、爱德华•希斯(Edward Heath)、玛格丽特•撒切尔(Margaret Thatcher)、约翰•梅杰(John Major)以及戴维•卡梅伦(David Cameron)。这种结果并非欧洲的本意。
When Mr Cameron became leader in 2005, he hoped to stop his party “banging on” about Europe so that it could engage with the real needs of voters. Despite the outcome of the EU referendum, his legacy is unlikely to be defined by Europe as Anthony Eden’s is by the Suez crisis of 1956.
当卡梅伦2005年成为保守党领袖时，他希望保守党停止对欧洲“喋喋不休”，以便集中精力应对选民的真正需求。尽管公投结果决定退出欧盟，但不同于1956年的苏伊士运河危机决定了安东尼•艾登(Anthony Eden)的政治遗产，卡梅伦的政治遗产不大可能由欧洲来界定。
The Tories were in a parlous state in 2005. They were no longer the natural party of government, having lost three consecutive elections. Their support was concentrated among the elderly and the socially and geographically immobile. They were anathema to ethnic minorities and students. Since Tony Blair won his landslide majority in 1997 for the Labour party, the Conservatives had lost ground in constituencies where the proportion of university graduates was above average. By 2005, they were the third party among students, behind the Liberal Democrats, and seen by many, as Theresa May pointed out, as the “nasty party”.
2005年，保守党危机四伏。他们不再是天然的执政党，已经连续三次在大选中失利。他们的支持者主要是老年人、以及社会地位和居住地稳定的人。少数族裔、学生都厌恶他们。自1997年托尼•布莱尔(Tony Blair)领导工党赢得压倒性多数席位以来，保守党在高校毕业生比例高于平均水平的选区已经失去了优势。截至2005年，保守党在学生中的受欢迎程度已滑至第三名，落后于自由民主党(Liberal Democrats)。正如特里萨•梅(Theresa May)所指出的，保守党已被很多人视为“讨厌的党”。