Dear Editor,

Most Jamaicans will have heard of the European Union (EU). What they will not be aware of is the fact that this political project, which is trying to turn itself into a United States of Europe, with one central government (in Brussels, Belgium), prevents Britain from trading freely with the Commonwealth countries.

As a Jamaican now resident in England (but currently spending a few days with family in St Mary), I am very concerned about this, and about the steady destruction of Britain’s sovereignty. Seventy per cent of UK laws are now made in Brussels, not Westminster.

Many people in the UK now want the country to leave the EU, while continuing to trade with it, and to regain their right to self-government. As a result, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) is growing in strength. One of its central policies, along with independence, is the establishment of a Commonwealth Free Trade Area, reconnecting Britain’s global trading links.

I am proud to tell you that I am standing as UKIP’s parliamentary candidate for Southampton Test, Hampshire, in the general election on May 6.

I find it deeply ironic that while Jamaica is able to celebrate its independence from British rule every August, a majority of people in Britain now desire independence from a new European empire.

Pearline Hingston

61 Luccombe Road

Southampton SO15 7RN

Hampshire, England

The flag of the European Union.