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The European Union really started 50 years ago with the Treaty of Rome. A lot has changed since 1957: globalisation has made the world smaller and more interdependent; the international political scene has stabilised significantly; the creation of international organisations has seen, on the whole, diplomacy win over military force. The concept of a community of European nations to prevent future conflict and work together in mutual interest was a noble vision, however by the time that vision began to bear fruit the idea was already out of date.

Today the EU is home to more than 500 million people in 27 countries. It is the worlds largest single market and has torn up the rule book for international organisations and is pursuing "ever closer union", deepening the political integration of member nations. It has taken on a renewed sense of purpose, not as a European Community but as a European State.

Deeper integration, particularly with the failed Constitution and the latest 'reform treaty', which is the old Constitution in all but name, will establish a new federal European state. The original benefits of a single market, primarily free trade and standardisation of regulations, are now outweighed by the disbenefits. Free trade blocs are becoming superfluous as global tariffs are reduced, led the the WTO, and the single market is collapsing under the weight of its own regulations. The EU is exhibiting the same big-government, corporatist, social democratic tendencies of the majority of its member states, completely contrary to the UK's.

The UK has just 8% of the votes in the Council of Ministers and now has the majority of its laws made by unelected commissioners: the figures vary but the German federal government calculated 84% of their laws were of EU origin and there is no reason to suspect the UK position is any different. The UK has historic relationships with a third of the worlds population through the commonwealth and yet we are prevented from determining our own trade policy. The British system of common law, whereby the individual has total freedom other than those expressly taken away by the Government, is diametrically opposed to the Continent's Roman/Napoleonic law, whereby individuals have only those rights awarded to them by the state. This leads to interpretation of EU laws differently in the UK and it adversely affects the liberties of the British people.

The UK should withdraw from political union with the EU and revert to a simple free trade agreement. We have much to gain by unshackling ourselves from the burdensome regulations of the EU and by setting our own trade policy. The British Government is given authority by the British people and act for the British people, and the British should continue to enjoy the basic democratic right to throw out a Government they do not like. Rather than creating bigger unions we should be looking at how we can push power down, closer to the people. The EU is an irrelevant concept in the 21st century and the UK has everything to gain by standing tall as an independent nation.

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