50% want EU to be a trade zone only

Which is all very well and nice, but after my visit to the doctors surgery across the road, I couldn't give two stuffs.

Oooh, I'm in one of those moods. But seriously, where do they grow medical receptionists from? This 'lady' told me that because I came from abroad (I live across the road, literally, from the surgery) that I needed to pay £40 to see the doctor. Since when did Green Street become some dividing waterway, separating one side of lower sunbury from the other? I tried to explain that I worked in Brussels, but was on the electoral register for the house across the road, which is where I officially live, and so was not so much of a foreigner, as just slightly higher paid. I think we made it there eventually, although I noticed that when she gave me a form to fill in, she didn't give me her nice pen to use, but some crusty old biro....

So back to politics. (must we?) According to this poll by Yougov, 62% of people think we need a referendum on our continued membership of the EU, and 50% think it should become what we were told it was going to be. Namely, a trading bloc rather than a country. I hope that the government listen, and that we do get a referendum. It baffles me how for so long we have not had a say on the single most important thing affecting our country - the institution which makes 70% of our laws, and is trying to make more by implementing the constitution even though it hasn't been ratified.

I'm still not entirely convinced by free trade blocs, though. Maybe it's the development economist with me, but why stop at your neighbours and let the poor people in LDCs starve? There's a whole world out there to trade with. Think about it. Initially we get cheaper goods, they get to benefit from our technology and then their economy starts to expand. Economies expanding need legitimate, democractic governments and ways of collecting taxation, as well as a fair legal system so things develop a little more. And this is the best bit: when the world is trading, and not letting it's poor relations starve, we don't have any more concerts given by Bob Geldof, and 'celebrities' who have no fucking clue what they are talking about will stick to making shit music, instead of shit political messages.