TONY Blair seems hell-bent on satisfying his alter ego at any cost. His burning ambition to be President of a country called Europe has blinded him to the pitfalls of joining the Euro.

He declared that he would not mind going down in history as "the man who surrendered the pound." If that became reality, then he would also go down as "the man who surrendered his country."

Make no mistake -- once in and we lose our independency and our identity. Prescott's so-called dream where he divides our country into regions is in fact the blue print of the EU. Europe would become a collection of "regions".

The EU demand that we hand over control of foreign and defence policy. It also demands the right to fix tax and interest rates. Gordon Brown could no longer prepare and deliver his budget without it first being approved by the unelected bureaucrats at Brussels.

Blair's programme for the Euro starts Autumn 2002 and goes for full implementation in April 2006. At a tremendous cost to the taxpayer this campaign can only be described as the biggest, most expensive compliance exercise ever.

What about a public referendum? Based on the spin doctor's skills at cashing in at certain times (remember September 11 was a "good time to bury bad news") May 2003 is pencilled in. This is to coincide with the local Government elections. Obviously, a time when apathy abounds!

So, the "brainwashed Euro supporters would (hopefully) turn out en mass thus giving a yes vote by stealth.

It's time we showed pride in Britain and its independency. We maybe Europeans but we are not continentals -- we have different lifestyles, different values etc., etc.

It is time for Blair to go and let someone who is proud of Britain and who will have our interests at heart to take over. We do not want someone whose personal ambition is greater than his allegiance to his country.

I Bancroft, Oxendale Road, Thornton.