I VOTED to join the Common Market in the 1970s because I liked the idea of a close trading agreement with the rest of Europe.

I did realise that some laws would need to be aligned and there would need to be a common framework to enable this to happen.

Since then I have watched as the Common Market has slowly morphed into a vast monolith which affects the way we make our laws, has its own anthem, is unaccountable, out of touch and seems unable to change.

No major party reflected my view or the view of many like me that the EU for all its good parts (of which there are many) was out of control, centralised, inward-looking, and based on principles that were out of date in these fast-moving and changing times.

To say that David Cameron called the referendum to unite the Conservative Party is to miss the point. Unease had been growing for 40 years about the direction of Europe and no major party was willing to recognise this.

Remember the Lisbon Treaty and Gordon Brown reneging on his promise to give people a vote on it? In the end the referendum happened because after 40 years it was needed.

Both Remain and Leave sides fought with misinformation; in the end we voted to leave.

Leave voters have every right to expect Parliament to carry this out.

Remember that leaflet: we will carry out your instructions, no customs union, no single market?

I was taught that people fought and died for my right to vote; I have always voted when possible, and always accepted with good grace when my side lost.

Do not be fooled into thinking Remain would win another referendum, or that a choice between a deal or Remain would be good enough.

Because of the democratic outrage created by our politicians, I know of many Remain voters who would change their vote to leave.

Above all I voted to leave because I wanted the UK to become outward-looking and embrace the world, instead of inward-looking and inflexible as the EU has become.

Graham Bowles

Kendal