When we joined, what was then "The common Market" back in the seventies, I was 18 and campaigned as a Labour party student for a yes vote. Back then, there were only about 11 or 12 countries in the common market, and it was basically a free market area, but with controls on farming and farm prices under the Common agricultural policy. All members were at fairly similar levels of industrialisation and GDP per head. Somehwere along the line, and without any plebicite it has transformed itself into a federation of nation states, with more and more control of every aspect of our national life being transferred away from our parliament to a largely unelected EU bureaucracy. Once control of our currency, taxation and legal system passes away from the UK we have a very limited ability to manage our own economy. This can be seen in the recent, and ongoing euro crisis where the weaker economies have been driven to the edge of bankruptcy by an inability to devalue their currency to stimulate growth. This is perhaps not so important when all countries in the EU were at similar economic levels, but as more and more struggling eastern european economies are dragged in, in a mistaken view that enlarging the EU makes it stronger, then the richer countries are expected to pay out more and more to subsidise the ewer, weaker members. In addition there will naturaly be migration from the weaker economies to the stronger. This is OK as long as those coming intend to work and contribute as this makes us all stronger. However, if they are just benefit tourists then that not only weakens our economy, but also theirs as they lose potential workers.
The real problem for many people is that the EU today is not what we voted to join back in the 70's. we are a fiercely independant race of people made up of many ethnic backgrounds, and many are not willing to be lorded over by an unelected group of failed politicians with their snouts in the EU trough.
