Time to address the real issues over EU membership

IN his latest letter, Don Burslam (Yorkshire Post, April 23) says he thinks that an EU referendum would be in favour of continued membership.

Opinion polls consistently show that the majority of us are unhappy with our membership of the EU. The hostility is based on the correct perception that it costs us dear, but more importantly that we are increasingly being governed by people we cannot remove via the ballot-box. I do not believe that Mr Burslam, or other like-minded correspondents, have addressed these compelling issues.

Mr Burslam accuses Eurosceptics of being “full of assertions and suspect figures”. The kettle seems to be calling the pot “black”. Firstly, he wrongly asserts that William Hague’s policy when Tory leader was withdrawal from the EU. In fact it was to keep us out of the euro.

Secondly, he previously asserted that we have a trade surplus with the EU. In fact we had a deficit of £46bn in 2010.

As we know, politics is the art of the possible. Historically, the Conservatives have been unable to reflect public opinion because of their own divisions and recently have had to “tone it down” to keep the coalition intact.

But as we move towards the next general election, the coalition will need an issue on which they can disagree, with honour, in order to fight separate campaigns. And with Labour’s rhetoric now starting to sound sceptical, public opinion could, at last, be reflected in political policy.

From: Brian A Jones, Clinton Street, Brooklyn NY.

your anti-EU correspondent Mr Geldard (Yorkshire Post, April 23) should take a look at a reference book. He would find that the European Court of Human Rights is “not to be confused with the European Court of Justice, the highest court of the European Union”.

It was actually established by the 47 member Council of Europe which is not the same as the EU.

Mr Geldard uses “unelected” as a term of abuse for the Court. He should visit a few US States to see some elected courts in action; unelected might start to sound pretty good.