YP Letters: We never willingly signed up for United States of Europe

Prime Minister David Cameron (right) meets with European Council president Donald Tusk at 10 Downing Street in London.

FRANK McManus (The Yorkshire Post, January 30) touches on this country becoming a part of the United States of Europe. To me this is the bottom line which, in my opinion, is not given the importance due in the arguments for and against.

Consider an equivalent to the United States of America – or indeed the United States of Mexico. A federal government with full control of the law, taxation, education and so on.

A federal Army, Navy and Air Force comprised of volunteers from all states: each state being proud to be a part of its country – because each state wished to become a member in the first place. A common language.

Britain was asked to vote on membership of a Common Market. That was it. Any voice suggesting that the country would lose its sovereignty and independence was told that that was never going to be the case by Edward Heath’s government. This country did not vote for anything else. But yet, week by week it seems, we have become gradually and increasingly more subservient to Brussels.

So now we are faced with it. Become a member of a United States of Europe – or take the opportunity to regain our nationality and independence.

From: Mike Dods, Leeds.

LIKE so many of the those wanting the UK to leave the EU, John Watson (The Yorkshire Post, January 30) is out of date in his conception of the EU. Sir Bernard Ingham was a personality from the 1980s and the EU has moved on to greater democracy since those days.

He suggests that the EU is not democratic, when the Council consists of our elected government ministers and the European Parliament is made up of elected MEPs. Where was he in the last European election in May 2014 when the electorate of Yorkshire elected six MEPs?

Nor do I accept that I am unpatriotic as a Europhile. Is it unpatriotic to want to be an influential member of the largest trading bloc in the world? Or to use our role as a major player in the EU to influence foreign policy world-wide? No, the unpatriotic choice is to risk all this.

From: Johnny Burke, Leyburn.

THE EU enthusiasts must be getting desperate if they’re wheeling out Karren Brady (The Yorkshire Post, February 1) to say football will suffer if we vote for Brexit becuase of difficulties signing players. I disagree. It will encourage home-grown players like Yorkshire’s very own John Stones.