You demonstrate an extrodianry lack of knowledge about what the EU actually is. Perhaps the reason is because you get your information from the scaremongering right-wing media, or perhaps you’re deliberately spreading misinformation yourself as this seems to be a favoured method of Eurosceptics.

For example, when you say, “foreign (mostly unelected and unaccountable) officials” who exactly do you mean? Obviously you’re referring to the Commission, the Council and the Parliament, and not the civil serivce of these institutions. But then, the only officials that are not elected (again, I assume here you mean by the public), are the 27 Commissioners (who are nominated by national governments instead) leaving the remaining 812 officials from the Council and the Parliament that ARE elected…so when you say “mostly unelected” you’re 3.22% right.

You then go on to say “if we pulled out of the EU completely” the UK could save billions. Well I’m not sure what you think the costs of EU membership are but I can tell you the net cost is around £4.5billion/year, hardly the billions you claim we’d save. But you deliberately (or you simply just don’t know) don’t say how much we actually make from EU membership. What about all the markets open to our companies, or all the jobs provided by EU companies in the UK? If we withdraw completely you take away all those benefits and the UK becomes isolated (think barriers to our trade etc). If you think we should just enter into a trade agreement, then we would still have to adhere to all the laws you are apparently against, only we’d have no say over their implementation like we do now. Basically, we’d be compelled to follow EU law without having a say in them - that is just madness. Oh and we’d still have to pay to simply be in a trade agreement (andunlike now, we’d see no return through the structural/regional funds).

And just incase we didn’t think you quite fit into the Eurosceptic stereotype you made sure of it by harping on about referendums and “democracy”. Explain this to me - how is laws being implemented by Rupert Murdoch, other media barons and their corporate friends “democracy”? A referendum would NOT be the decision by the people it would be a decision by the rich elite who oppose the liberties and rights we have because of the EU. You claim to support British traditions, but why then, do you yourself want to ignore Brtish tradition by demanding our Parliament is bypassed. We operate a Parliamentary democracy PRECICELY to safeguard us from undemocratic forces like corporations and media empires. We do not implement laws by referendums in this country and we never should. We would still be living in the dark ages where women did not have the vote or where we were barbarically executing criminals if we DID decide things by referendums and nobody would ever pay any taxes because “a huge majority of the population” don’t like paying them.

I suggest you need to do a hell of a lot of research about the EU because it is clear that the only objections you have to it is based on notions from the right wing media like “we don’t like being ruled by foreigners” because all your “facts” are simply wrong and untrue.

James Wagstaff

After reading your remark in your letter to the Daily Mail (12.11.07) I
thought you ought to know that the British public are not fools and
remind you of a quote from Abraham Lincoln;
“You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people
some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.”

You say the Reform Treaty ‘is rather good’ as it cuts the number of
politicians and bureaucrats. So - let me get this right, in exchange for
giving away even more control of our nation (60 more vetoes) and
handing over practically the last remnants of our sovereignty, to control
by foreign (mostly unelected and unaccountable) officials - we save - in
EU terms - a minute amount of money on bureaucracy.
This is a good deal?

If we pulled out of the EU completely we would save ourselves Bi££ions
each year in the cash that we now pay. We would free ourselves of two
complete levels of government - the MEP’s Brussels gravy train and the
regional Assemblies (that many people don’t even know exist). This
would save us more Bi££ions. We will get back control of our
agriculture and regain ownership of our fishing grounds. Even more
Bi££ions. The removal of the burden of over-regulation on business
would allow us to compete in a global economy instead of the
protectionist European lunacy that now stifles our trade. Again - Bi££ions.
Now - this is a good deal!

A much better deal all round. The British public have had enough of the
ruling classes telling us what’s good for us when they’re really only
interested in doing what’s good for themselves.

More and more people are realising what the European project all about
and has always been about. When Ted Heath signed us up for the
Common Market we were promised that all we were joining was a
trading organisation and nothing more. This was a lie! He knew then the
ultimate aim of the whole European project was the forming of a United
States of Europe. Harold Wilson in 1975 then lied when his
Pro-Common Market government promised us the same in the
referendum - “There is no danger to sovereignty - its just a trading
organisation”.
They knew that if they had told the British voters the truth the European
dream (nightmare) would have been dead and buried there and then. That
is why the United States of Europe has had to be built by stealth.
Sneaking through a bit here and a bit there. Deals done in secret. You
scratch my back etc. Well, we have had enough of this deceit and
skulduggery.

It beggars belief the utter contempt shown by our politicians to the
millions who gave their lives in the last century fighting for freedom from
tyranny and the restoration of liberty in Europe. They now conspire to
undermine the very fabric of British society and sell us down the Swanee
with their traitorous actions.
We know all about organisations like ‘Common Purpose’ and
Bilderbergers. European bureaucrats and politicians talk openly about
‘the post democratic era’ and then try to tell us how democratic the EU is.

You cannot deny that a huge majority of the population want a
referendum on the Constitution (for that is what it is) and if you believe in
democracy how can you deny the public that right. Arguments like ‘well
we never had a referendum on Amsterdam, Nice’ etc. are silly because
the British voters SHOULD have been consulted in all of the treaties.
And the other excuse - its not the Constitution - red lines etc. is bunkum.
We all know the only reason we can’t have one is because the
government would lose.

The European Union will eventually go the same way as its close model -
the Soviet System. Power corrupts and in the EU, corruption is already
rife.

What is wrong with ruling ourselves like we have done for centuries?
Why should we be afraid of ruling our own country?

Maybe you think that our politicians surrendering sovereignty and
handing over our democracy to be ruled by a foreign power is a good
idea. I most certainly don’t.

many thanks - Mr. T.J. Probyn

If the Labour Movement for Europe is to be good for anything then it should not just be the mouthpiece for the FCO’s lines about the Reform Treaty!