Sir: Your worthy Editorial ' Without consent ' on the Government ' s success
in carrying Clause 2 of the European Communities Bill by a mere eight votes prompts the thought: what are we, who oppose entry to the EEC on the terms negotiated, to do next, now the Prime Minister has demonstrated his contempt for the people and his ability to maintain his own 'pledge? It would be very easy for us to drop the whole issue and let Mr Heath have his own way, rather as one does the irate schoolboy who threatens to put an end to a game of cricket by taking his bat and ball home. However, the issues concerned are deeper and more complex than this. They also take in other aspects of the Government's strategy.
For the people of this country are now faced with a real dilemma. We have only to see how, in Northern Ireland, a vociferous and armed minority can not only bring about the substitution of an elected government, but also obtain concessions in the form of boundary plebiscites and proportional representation in local elections. Proof, indeed, that violence can win handsome-political dividends.
By contrast the vast majority of the citizens of the United Kingdom who go about their business within the law are deprived of any such privileges. Indeed, the very fact that we do not take to the streets and man the barricades would appear to give us the status of second-class citizens in comparison with our militant compatriots in Northern Ireland.
The danger now is not that those who oppose EEC entry — the majority — will follow the example of the minority in Northern Ireland. That would be unthinkable. The real danger is that the majority have become so sickened and disillusioned with the political antics of the Government that they no longer care. And when this feeling becomes entrenched the doors are wide open for the forces of anarchy and totalitarianism.
It is principles such as this that outweigh the economic pros and cons of EEC entry — important though they are. For what is at stake is democracy itself.
James Towler
25 Moseley Wood Lane, Cookridge, Leeds
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