I VERY much enjoyed Mike Joslin’s robust response to my letter on the coming EU vote (Letters, April 26). I am not sure however that my comments on our democracy were exactly “lyrical, as Mike states.

I believe it to have faults, which I personally would prefer us to deal with outside of the EU, whose own structure and way of working have I feel deeper flaws democratically speaking than ours.

Mike as a businessman is perhaps better qualified to comment on the economic arguments than I am.

All I would say is that if the original idea of a common market had remained just that, without the determined efforts of some in Europe to produce a superstate, then perhaps we would not be having this national argument.

Finally I think it fair to say that people like myself and Mike, however much we may differ, have at least in our own way thought about the issue.

What concerns me is that for a lot of people the whole EU debate is a big turn-off which may be reflected in voting numbers. I hope not.

Richard Samways

Albert Terrace

Portland