This letter was published in the Kent & Sussex Courier and in the Bexhill & Battle Observer on Friday December 18, 2020 in a personal capacity:

Dear Editor

‘Sovereignty’ has been much in the news recently, I hope that you will let me to share some thoughts about what it means in Britain today.

• It means being part of an international agreement forcing us to go to war when an ally feels threatened, regardless of the perceived enemy.
• It means being unable to tax major international companies fairly for fear of upsetting a trading partner.
• It means having nearly all essential services in the control of foreign owned companies.
• It involves a system where influential people, both foreigners and tax exiles, can pay large amounts to money to play tennis with the Prime Minister so he knows what laws he can, and cannot, pass.
• It means having to deploy gunboats to ‘protect’ fish from the unwanted attentions of a close ally.
• It means having print media, social media, and increasingly published media owned and controlled by foreigners with their own agendas.
• It has essential energy supply in the hands of a hostile state.
• It involves having our lives  increasingly controlled by algorithms over which we have little knowledge and no control.

In a highly connected global world where the things that people of all backgrounds have in common massively outweigh their differences, ‘sovereignty’ seems a very silly idea.  But as Christmas approaches, may I wish all your readers peace and goodwill to all, including your libertarian correspondents who won’t recognise either concept.

Regards,

Steve Barrass