The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
The subject of our continued membership of the European Union nearly always involves various figures being quoted in order to prove a point.
The figures invariable relate to: Money and jobs.
Are we better off in or out of the EU? Will it make us wealthier and give us better job prospects if we stay in or out?
Very rarely do I see comments about one of the most precious things that Great Britain possesses and that is our democracy.
It seems to be taken for granted that it will always exist and that it arrived with little effort and is protected and unaffected by our membership of the EU.
Our democracy is far from perfect but it has been hard won with great sacrifices made by many people.
To our great shame there are people that cannot even be bothered to use the vote which has been bequeathed to them.
It is my sincere belief that the EU is a grave danger to our British democracy.
There is no speculation here, one only has to look at it’s structure.
I think there are people that do not fully understand exactly how undemocratic and excessively bureaucratic it is so may I explain as follows:
The laws issued by the EU are arrived at by various institutions which are:
1. The Commission
2. The Council of Ministers
3. The European Parliament (which has only one chamber)
The 28 member commission is independent of national governments and its job is to uphold the interests of the EU Commissioners and the president of the Commission are approved by MEPs in a secret ballot.
This is little more than an approval of one candidate.
The UK has one commissioner and it is doubtful that most people could identify them without resorting to Google.
The Commission is responsible for regulations and directives (laws) which are then considered by the appropriate minister from each of the 28 member states.
Not all laws are passed jointly with the European parliament.
The council is the legislative body but consults parliament.
Once proposals are agreed it goes to EU Parliamentary committee for amendment. They have 24 hours for study.
After going back to the commission it is discussed by representatives of all three EU institutions.
Next it goes to the full chamber where MEPs normally have only a few hours for debate.
The Parliament is “grouped” into various politically allegiances to put their views. The proposal then goes for a vote by show of hands.
Even if the vote is lost it can go back to the commission as well as the council of ministers for a final decision.
Therefore in some instances it is not the EU Parliament which passes laws but effectively the Commission itself which is wholly and directly unelected by the people of the EU.
The UK courts must abide by these laws regardless of what any UK law or statutory instrument may say.
Whilst British democracy is not perfect it is nowhere near as bad as this.
We have witnessed Sovereign elected Governments in Italy and Greece being turfed out of office and replaced by unelected technocrats in the interests of “financial stability”.
We would be foolish to think that it could not happen eventually in Great Britain.
The EU has proven itself incapable of change and our influence is tiny.
Mr Cameron’s attempt at “reform” just proves the point.
In the interests of minimising the evidence of how much we are affected, EU legislation has moved into low gear during the run up to the referendum in an effort to stabilize the apple cart in other member states.
We should bear in mind that the Trans Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is waiting in the wings.
That is a story for another day but for those that are interested it is worth a look and please pay special attention to the possible outlook for our NHS as one of the consequences.
We have one chance to get out of this undemocratic institution and it is my firm belief that we should grab it with both hands.
Andrew Parks
Gedney
