The miserable farce of David Cameron’s “renegotiation” of Britain’s membership of the EU has only served to underline the regressive and undemocratic nature of that institution (Report, 16 February). We know from extreme austerity enforced on the people of Greece that the union is not only undemocratic in itself but also anti-democratic in the profound sense that its institutions will not allow the democratically expressed view of the majority of people to stand if it runs counter to the free market project.

The EU is irreversibly committed to privatisation, welfare cuts, low wages and the erosion of trade union rights. This is why the dominant forces of British capitalism and the majority of the political elite are in favour of staying in the EU. The EU is irrevocably committed to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and other new trade deals, which represent the greatest transfer of power to capital that we have seen in a generation.

Claims that the free movement of labour within the EU is a barrier to xenophobia are false. But without labour rights and an alternative to austerity, migrants will be prey to hostile xenophobic forces with or without the Schengen agreement. And, even more seriously, “Fortress Europe” ensures that those outside the EU cartel of nations are subject to vicious discrimination if they are lucky, and drowning in the Mediterranean if they are not.

We stand for a positive vision of a future Europe based on democracy, social justice and ecological sustainability, not the profit-making interests of a tiny elite. For these reasons we are committed to pressing for a vote to leave the EU in the forthcoming referendum on UK membership.

Mick Cash

General secretary, National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers

Ian Hodgson

President, Bakers, Food and Allied Workers’ Union

Tariq Ali

Writer and broadcaster

John Hilary

Executive director, War on Want

Prof Mary Davis

TUC women’s gold badge winner

Aaron Bastani

Co-founder, Novara Media

Robert Griffiths

General secretary, Communist party

Lindsey German

Writer and anti-war campaigner

Joginder Bains

National general secretary, Indian Workers Association – GB

Alex Gordon

Former president, National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers

Liz Payne

Chair, Communist party

John Rees

Counterfire

John Foster

International secretary, Communist party

Dave Randall

Musician and writer

Graham Stevenson

Former president, European Transport Workers Federation

Bill Greenshields

Past president, National Union of Teachers

Doug Nicholls

Chair, Trades Unionists Against the EU

Fawzi Ibrahim

Former treasurer and national executive member, University & College Lecturers’ Union

Robert Wilkinson

Former national executive, National Union of Teachers

Hank Roberts

Past national president, Association of Teachers and Lecturers

John Stevenson

GMB (personal capacity)

Reuban Bard Rosenberg

Musician

Manuel Bueno Del Carpio

Unison, Sandwell general branch

Dyal Bagri

National president, Indian Workers Association – GB

Harsev Bains

Secretary, Association of Indian Communists – GB

Ben Chacko

Editor, Morning Star

Jim McDaid

Socialist Labour party Scotland and Chair, Irvine & North Ayrshire TUC

Vince Mills

Labour Leave

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