Goodbye 1699, hello 1984

Pedantry.

It was just after we joined. The OP seemed to be saying that no one in the UK had ever had an opportunity to vote. That just isn't true.

In article , Michael Jones writes

The populi did NOT vote about joining, they voted about leaving. Although being a referendum to obtain opinion it could safely be ignored.

We voted to join a Common Market, not a European Union. We voted to stay in a European Economic Community, not a European Union. I repeat, > I never voted to join the EU, or had the chance to. Did anyone else in the UK?

I don't think that the populi ever voted to join a Common Market, other than by the usual process of voting for MPs to make decisions in our best interest.

It still is a community in practice.

Why should you? Did you vote on the Interception of Communications Act, the Licensing Hours Act, The Firearms Act, the Street Lighting Act, etc.?

Once again, our elected MPs did.

They voted to remain in one in a referendum in 1975.

No, it is a Union of states run by a legislature which is undemocratic, unaccountable, elitist, self serving, corrupt, inefficient.

No, but my elected representatives did, even though I may not agree with it all.

And now 80% of the law of this country is initiated, drafted, and imposed by the above undemocratic, unaccountable, elitist, self serving, corrupt, inefficient legislature. It now makes little difference what our elected MPs do, or what Party they belong to, so no wonder a large proportion of the country don't bother to vote any more. They can't do anything about legislation made by an unaccountable Civil Service. Which, I think, is the point that Joyce Whitchurch was making in the first post in this thread.

I voted to join the Common Market, because they promised that there would soon be no customs barriers between Britain and France. I regret my vote, and I sincerely apologise. The customs barriers are still there 36 years later. And the Common Market has changed into the EU, which I would never have voted for.

Nick

You and me both mate, and I suspect many, many, others.