IT’S very tempting to say we (of UKIP) told you so, but the news that the European Union now wants to impose major new regulations on Southampton and other ports comes as no surprise.

The intention to appoint a Port Regulator, who would control cargo-handling prices and investment in infrastructure, thereby undermining the ability of Southampton to compete on productivity and cost, is meddling by Brussels bureaucrats, and those member states which have developed efficiency over many decades are now meant to take a hit, for the benefit of the feckless ones who have “disparities of performance”.

I do hope that this latest assault upon our sovereignty will awaken a few more people in this city to the reality of the European Project.

Ironically, on the opposite page to the Echo’s report on the above (February 25), was an article about Hampshire businesses applying to the EU for “£38m of Euro funds” to create thousands of jobs in the Solent area. That sum is, of course, considerably less than the amount we hand over to Brussels every single day.

COLIN HINGSTON, Southampton.