WHEN the people voted to join the Common Market, that is exactly what they thought it was.

Now, we are being asked to surrender our currency and even put our armed forces under the control a non-elected commission.

With the continentals threatening us at every turn, it's time they realised that without our monetary contribution, the EU would just collapse and if we moved our purchasing power elsewhere, they would be the biggest losers.

The majority of countries within the EU sell more to us than they buy from us, so in the way of trade we are the net losers.

They outvote us on the most mundane things, bring in arbitrary regulations which our governments dutifully fulfil while they flout the rules if it suits their people or purpose.

There are more than 190 countries in the world, the majority with their own currency.

How will joining the euro benefit our trade with these countries?

The world's currency for trading is undoubtedly the US dollar. How more sensible it would be to align ourselves with Canada, Mexico and the USA, which is a larger market, more wealthy and substantially free of socialist humbug.

Our economy is more in line with the Americans, so why risk what we have?

If we had stopped in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, we would be waiting for our ecus and be in the same mess as Europe. Even the German economic miracle has been pricked .

WALT MEADOWS, Whalley New Road, Blackburn.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.