By Rab Bruce’s Spider

Everyone likes to feel special. It gives us a nice, warm glow when we receive treatment that is above and beyond what we expected. Equally, however, nobody likes hearing someone else demand special treatment simply because of who they are. Nothing gets up our noses more than hearing someone whine, "Don’t you know who I am?"

Which is why the spectacle of David Cameron returning from his EU renegotiation summit proudly proclaiming that the UK would be given special status within the EU was not so much reminiscent of the triumpal begotiations of a skilled diplomat as of a spoilt six-year-old having a tantrum at a children’s party and demanding more treats than everyone else because ... well, because they’re special.

It is, of course, a feature of the British Establishment psyche to believe that Britain is superior to all other nations and should be accorded special treatment on the rather peculiar grounds that we’ve spent several centuries invading other countries and telling them how to behave while exploiting their people and resources for our own benefit. Quite why this makes us special is a bit of a mystery.

A bigger mystery is why the other members of the EU put up with this pathetic attitude and seem to bend over backwards to massage Cameron’s ego in an attempt to keep the UK in the EU. Yes, it may well be about the money and it may also be down to typical political pride in that they don’t want to see the EU break up at all but the entire charade was hardly an edifying spectacle. Of course, the EU may well intend to do to Cameron what he did to Scotland by making promises which they will fail to keep as soon as they’ve got the Referendum result they want. Now, wouldn’t that be fitting?