FEELING poorer this year and wondering why? Here are some facts. For a few days, stop watching The X-Factor, EastEnders and Strictly Come Dancing and analyse this.

Great Britain is paying £48 million each and every day to the European Union.

That is more than £400 a year for every person of working age in the UK, enough for a holiday.

The more EU countries such as Ireland, Portugal, Belgium, Spain and Greece will need bail-outs to survive, then we will have to contribute.

EU member Slovakia was asked to cough up £660 million towards the Greek bail-out, but refused. Its government was hero-worshipped by its citizens, and other EU states had to pay.

The two richest countries in Europe, Switzerland and Norway, still do massive amounts of trade with EU countries, although they are not member states.

Make no mistake, the EU will collapse after the inevitable failure of the euro.

The time for the United Kingdome to agree a divorce from the EU is now.

Graham Charlesworth, Allerton Drive, Nether Poppleton, York.