Define the benefits
SIR - Fred Oathill of Appledore (Yours Sincerely June 4) is on good company when he states he has never understood why public opinion about European ideas should be taken into account." If you are more than 51 years old, you had the chance to vote in 197
SIR - Fred Oathill of Appledore (Yours Sincerely June 4) is on good company when he states he has never understood why public opinion about European ideas should be taken into account." If you are more than 51 years old, you had the chance to vote in 197
SIR - Fred Oathill of Appledore (Yours Sincerely June 4) is on good company when he states he has "never understood why public opinion about European ideas should be taken into account."If you are more than 51 years old, you had the chance to vote in 1975 on what we were then told was "simply a trading arrangement called the Common Market." Anyone younger has never had an opportunity to express any direct opinion through the ballot box regarding our membership of what has now become the European Union. Politicians of the three main parties, together with senior civil servants are determined to keep it that way, hence the denial of the promised referendum earlier this year on the Lisbon Treaty. The EU was created by politicians and civil servants for the benefit of politicians and civil servants and the rest of us can simply pay for it and keep our noses out of what they consider doesn't concern us.As for EU money, Mr Oathill may be interested in these figures from Government sources:Since we joined in 1975 we have paid contributions totalling £213,589 billion and received grants and rebates of £147,261 billion, leaving us out of pocket by over £66,328 billion. The only year Britain ever got more back than it paid in was 1975. What a coincidence that was the year of our only referendum.Mr Oathill obviously considers this a good deal, so may I suggest we make an arrangement for him to pay me a £10 'contribution' and I will happily give him back a £7 'grant'. He can repeat this as often as he wishes.Successive Conservative and Labour governments have consistently refused to carry out a cost benefit analysis of our EU membership, stating that the benefits are "self-evident", but have never been able to define them. Perhaps Mr Oathill can?David Johnson,Appledore.