REGARDING?the?letter Why I am so against the EU .

REGARDING?the?letter "Why I am so against the EU". Ann Prior (January 7) understates the situation in referring to "the wimps we have had in Government over the last three decades...have handed our once proud nation over to a group of strong-minded politicians on the continent of Europe".

I used to hold a similar view, but have learnt that it's far worse than that, in that an entire political class across the political spectrum has actively pursued an extra-parliamentary project to subsume us in a federal superstate.

Edward Heath denied this was the objective in 1972 when he successfully secured our entry to what was then called the Common Market. However, official papers released under the 30-year rule in 2002, showed clearly he was advised by the Government's own legal adviser, Lord Kilmuir, that this action would bring about loss of our sovereignty and that it would need to be completed before the expiry of the 30 years' protection.

And so it was and with the knowing support of our own Vichy Brigade in both the main parties at that time, plus the Foreign Office who were the main advocates of the Treaty of Rome, and all the subsequent treaties, and, in my opinion, the willing co-operation of the BBC as cheerleaders, to this day.

But it gets worse, as we have not "given away" our sovereignty but have actually paid for the privilege to the point where our membership now costs us �50 million per day in direct costs and some �135 billion per annum in hidden costs - regulation and compliance with the myriad EU laws which constitute some 75% of all the laws which are passed each year in this country. Eliminating these costs would solve our national deficit at one stroke.

All this has been done without the approval of the people as those elites always knew that, if asked, the people would not agree - vide Denmark, Sweden, France, Holland and Ireland, so the EU keeps on asking until it gets the answer it needs. Those states that need not have referenda, don't get them, of course

Now that the Lisbon Treaty/Constitution is in place, we will see an increasingly dominant and ruthless system of government from Brussels openly interfering with all aspects of our lives, and the "wimps" will just lie back and wallow in the post-democratic gravy train without any fear of the electors.

When governments do not fear the electors, we have tyranny.

John Kelly,

Timbers Chase,

Marley Hayes,

Hulham Road,

Exmouth.