EUROPE: Right decision has been made

His aim of emasculating the nation state has moved to the most fundamental area of sovereignty: defence.

Before the so-called European Parliament are plans for a single army controlled by Brussels, and for a single security service tasked with combating subversion. The definition of subversion includes criticism of the EU itself, even by legitimate political parties.

Were we to be subsumed into this arrangement, our security would suffer through a lack of independence of action, even when in our own interests.

NATO would be denied funds by countries already failing in their treaty obligations to spend two per cent of their budget on funding the umbrella that protects them from attack.

Free speech and democracy are put at risk by the suggestion that subversion includes a criticism of the EU.

Moreover, overall security currently based on the ‘five eyes’ partnership of the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA would be less effective as the absolute trust of those nations is not replicated between the security forces of the EU.

The next step will be the expansion of the Treaty of Velsen. Signed by some member states at the same time as the Lisbon Treaty, from which we are soon to extricate ourselves, it sets up a pan European Gendarmerie Force of armed military style police.

It is a force that can be deployed in member states to “help” national governments restore order. Except it can be deployed without reference to national governments and without national police or judicial control.

Portugal’s Prime Minister Antonio Costas has called for the transfer of more power to the European Commission to overrule national governments, unelected civil servants being ever more powerful than elected representatives.

His rhetoric about punishing the UK for leaving is not the language of a friend and ally, but appears to be that of someone hoping to forestall his own people following our lead.

Jean Monet and Arthur Salter, who first propounded the concept of this country called Europe, would be proud of him.

Throughout Europe we see the political elite seeking to impose “enlightened government”.

In attacking those who voted to leave of having a lack of intelligence, they display a contempt of opinions other than their own. In a democracy all opinions are of equal value, except where they advocate hatred or violence.

Those in this country who continue to object to the result are at best discourteous, but at worst display the intolerance of which they accuse others.

It is my belief that the EU is not about trade or student visas – it is, as these developments show, about creating a huge single country.

Leaving the EU is about retaining our independence and ability to fully govern ourselves. Everything else is of secondary importance.

Those who would have us remain in the EU ignore that simple fact and play on the unimportant issues.

The right decision was made on June 23. That becomes clearer every day.

Nigel Coghill-Marshall,

UKIP candidate for Berwick-upon-Tweed 2015,

Vote Leave Co-ordinator, Northumberland