- They are not more European than we are. They are just more federal; Mrs. Thatcher

I fully support the firm stand that my right hon. Friend [ Douglas Hurd] the Foreign Secretary and my right hon. Friend [ John Major] the Prime Minister have taken against any commitment to a federal Europe.

I would hope that most people in the House were against a federal Europe; otherwise, what is the point of people standing as candidates at the next election—to come back here and propose to hand over all their powers as representatives of constituents to another Parliament?

The second point—[Hon. Members: "The second point."] Thank you very much. The second point is that we should not let those who support a federal Europe pretend that they are somehow more European than the rest of us. They are not; they are just more federal. 

There is nothing specifically European about a federal structure—indeed, the opposite: it is the nation state which is European.

http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/108276

England