Simon Baker

Brexiter on BBC #PoliticsLive "I want us to have our own laws, govern ourselves, not be dictated to by an unelected European Parliament" My view: That claim sounds less like an informed account of how the EU worked and more like populist rhetoric repeated without checking the facts. The European Parliament was directly elected by voters—including UK voters while Britain was a member. Most EU laws were proposed by the Commission, then debated, amended and agreed by the elected Parliament and the Council of national government ministers. The Commission could not simply dictate laws on its own. British ministers sat in the Council and took part in those decisions; British MEPs represented voters in Parliament. The UK could be outvoted in some areas, but that is shared decision-making—not rule by an unelected parliament. And the Commission itself was accountable to elected institutions: Parliament had to approve the College of Commissioners. You can argue that pooling sovereignty was a bad deal, or point to a specific EU law you opposed. But “we were dictated to by an unelected European Parliament” is not a factual description of the process. It replaces the real debate with a slogan. And this explains the need for education and information so individuals such as this gentleman can make informed decisions based on accurate information, and not populist, divisive rhetoric.