CONGRATULATIONS to Nina Cooper for her letter: We need a new Cromwell.

She is right when she says our MPs know nothing about the EU and its aims and its motions.

Our judges, lawyers and legislators in general can vouch for that. They often get it wrong and have their rulings overturned by European Courts. So many of our young people are not interested in politics and could be easily swayed in a referendum by smooth talking wafflers. They would be influenced by such things as not needing foreign currency or passports and many more important issues. They would be told what they will lose, such as heritage, national identity, unable to arrange our own finances, our laws, the defence of these shores etc. No. That would be political suicide for the pro-Europeans.

Will they be told that unemployment in Germany, France, Italy, Spain and others is much higher than ours and still rising?

Our MPs say the EU countries want Britain to join and it is in our interest to make our jobs secure in the future. The pound is too strong against the Euro they say and is hindering us breaking into lucrative markets. That suggests to me, we would be taking the jam off the bread of our European partners. So why do they want us? Would you be pleased if say, you had a shoe shop in the High Street and another shoe shop opened up next door? That's what it all amounts to. It all sounds like Utopia to me, and that sounds too good to be true.

I say, let's paddle our own canoe, sink or swim. If it is the latter, we'll only have ourselves to blame. We will at least be able to decide for ourselves how to rectify it.

Now let us really see how they feel about us and about the EU generally. Here are a few quotes I've noted over the year:

"The single currency is the greatest relinquished of sovereignty," Spain '98.

"The European Union could not have been formed by democratic means," France '98.

"I will never understand why public opinion should be considered regarding European affairs," France '99.

"Might is right in politics and in war," Germany '98.

"It is necessary to establish the Euro to stand firm against Anglo Saxon values," Belgium.

If anyone is still pro-European, as far as I'm concerned they'll deserve all they get. What worries me though is I'll have to endure it too.

J W STONE

Cocklebury Road

Chippenham