THE forthcoming European elections are a travesty of democracy. The European Parliament only exists to create the spurious impression that there is some democratic control over the European Commission.

In fact, the European Parliament is not accountable to the British people and the Commission is certainly not accountable to it.

MEPs will not be responsible for their actions to the electors, but to the party hierarchies who will be able to decide whether or not they retain their seats at the next election.

This is not a democratic system, removing as it does the link between the elector and the elected; indeed it continues the process of decreasing involvement of the voters in the electoral process.

D BULLEN (Mr), Albany Road, Blackburn.

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