I respond to John Lilly, Argus Letters (May 25), when he complains that left of centre Ukip and Green voters denied Labour the election victory in Kemptown.

John Lilly needs to realise that both Ukip and the Green Party owe their existence to the fact that both Labour and the Tory parties have treated the electorate with total contempt.

In 1975 when there was a referendum on the Common Market, the electorate was given absolute assurances by Ted Heath and Harold Wilson that membership would not involve loss of sovereignty.

Since then both parties have been signing away our sovereign independence the salami method, slice by slice.

In 2005, all three main parties gave an election pledge that the Lisbon Treaty (formally the European Constitution) would not be signed without a referendum.

The constitution was democratically rejected by the Dutch and the French.

Not only did Gordon Brown insult the intelligence of the electorate by claiming that the Lisbon Treaty was a different treaty but in 2008 he sent a barrister to the Brighton County Court to say that the election manifesto could not give reasonable expectations that the promises would be kept.

I still have a copy of Tony Blair’s book written when he was opposition leader setting out his vision for a new Labour Party – a new Britain.

Not only did he state the importance of Labour keeping its promises, but stated that there should be no further integration into Europe without a referendum.

This is the same Tony Blair who has the audacity to state that the British people cannot be trusted with a referendum on Europe.

If John Lilly wants to see Labour back in power, then Labour needs to start to respect the electorate and stop trying to sabotage the proposed referendum on Europe.

Nearly four million people voted for Ukip, and an unknown number voted tactically to stop a combination of Nicola Sturgeon and Ed Miliband wrecking the country.

Stuart Bower
Hallyburton Road, Hove