As Democracy Dies - One

In The Times a perceptive comment from Camilla Cavendish, 'We must stand up to this cynical stitch-up' (Its the elites of Europe versus the people) linked here, from which comes this quote:

Those who want the new treaty argue that it is just another step in the process of centralisation. But just because ordinary people are only gradually waking up to the drip-dripping away of their power does not mean that they should be denied a say in it. Some argue that a referendum would end up being a vote on the direction of the EU. But it should be. The EU needs to change direction, and its citizens want it to. The battleground is not Britain versus Europe, it is the elites versus the people.

The irony is that, six years ago, EU leaders seemed to agree. In the Laeken declaration of 2001, they specifically asked for more transparency, democracy and subsidiarity (powers returned to nation states). What they got was Valéry Giscard d’Estaing..... As if to prove the point in its letters column in the same paper, beneath more gobbledegook from the shameless Foreign Secretary, we have this group of corporatists: Lord Brittan of Spennithorne Roger Carr, Chairman, Centrica Guy Dawson, Founding Partner, Tricorn Partners Paul Marshall, Chairman, Marshall Wace Asset Management Vijay Patel, CEO, Waymade Healthcare Stuart Popham, Senior Partner, Clifford Chance Roland Rudd, Chairman, Business for New Europe Bill Thomas, President — Europe, Middle East & Africa, EDS Rosemary Thorne, Non-Executive Director, Abbey National Lord Tugendhat, Senior Adviser, Lehman Brothers Lord John Kerr, Deputy Chairman, Royal Dutch Shell .... recommending the Treaty with no mention of democracy but including this telling sentence: The business community has a lot to gain from a strong single market of 500 million people, with more effective institutions to police and enforce its rules. Lord Tugendhat for one is an ex-EU Commissioner, on a fat EU pension and as far from impartiality as it is possible to get. All their letter is perfect proof of the case put by Camilla Cavendish.