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		Letter to the Editor Monday, 27 October 2003 Dear Sir, As we Conservatives launch our national petition for a referendum on the proposed EU Constitution, some people are saying that the issue is too big and too complicated for voters to understand. They're wrong. And they're under-estimating the voters. In essence, the choice we face is simple and stark. Do we want Britain to remain an independent, self-governing country? Or do we want to out-source our government to foreign officials that we did not elect and cannot remove? I challenge anyone who doubts this simple fact to read the draft Constitution, as I have. Its meaning is perfectly clear. But if you haven't time to read it, at least listen to French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin. On the recent BBC Dimbleby Lecture, he told us the plain truth that Tony Blair and Jack Straw are trying to deny. He said the purpose of the Constitution was to create a political union. In such a political union, Britain would be a mere off-shore province, ruled from Brussels. This is an enormous constitutional change, and it is inconceivable that the people should be denied a say. If you agree with me that we need a referendum, be sure to sign the petition when you have the chance, or contact your local Conservative office. Yours faithfully, Roger Helmer MEP East Midlands Conservative Party