John Petley, of the Campaign for an Independent Britain, on why people should vote for Britain to leave the EU on June 23.

He writes: June 23rd provides us with a great opportunity to put right an historic wrong. In 1973, most people thought we were moving from one free trade area, EFTA, to another, the so-called Common Market. However, what we joined in that momentous year was a political project whose objective was progressively to hollow out our national democratic institutions, including our Westminster Parliament. Power would be gradually handed over to institutions in Brussels. We were deceived into joining by the prime minister of that time, Edward Heath, because he knew of our unease about this project to create a new federal superstate.

The EU’s supporters on the Continent are quite open about its objective. “What threatens us is the lack of Europe, not the excess of it,” said François Hollande, the French president, last year. Over here, successive governments have been much more reticent. Even the recent government leaflet said much about trade and immigration but nothing about the EU’s raison d’être.

Given we were misled into joining the EU, it is unsurprising that we have never really been comfortable with it. We should not be ashamed of this. After all, most other countries have retained the right to determine what happens within their borders and how to relate to the rest of the world. If the other member states prefer to see their national institutions eroded, fine, but we don’t. It’s best, therefore, to go for a divorce, albeit one which will allow us to remain friends. Such an amicable parting of the ways is possible. We could rejoin EFTA, which would give us access to the EU’s Single Market – in other words, a trading relationship without the political baggage and a safe route through the Brexit door to freedom.

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