I AM neither a Blairite, nor, by most standards a Thatcherite. At a guess, I would suspect that the Budget agreement Tony Blair brought back from Europe was the best that could have been done.

You would not guess, from reading G Drons letter (December 29), that the UK Budget rebate will continue to increase, (NOT decrease), though by less than was originally anticipated.

In 1950, at the time of the formation of the European Coal and Steel Community, the leadership of Western Europe was ours for the taking. But both the Attlee government, and the opposition under Winston Churchill, were besotted with the notion of Britain as a world power to take on the job, and the mainland Europeans, got on with reunification in their own way.

By the time we decided we wanted in, we had to negotiate acceptable terms with the original six counries. Ever since, we have done deals with the best of them. The only concession we have made on the rebate is to ensure that the accession countries of Eastern Europe, who are much poorer than we are, do not have to contribute to our rebate. Hard though it is to come to terms with this notion, there is no prospect of any exit strategy. If we even tried, the international banking fraternity would get out of sterling so fast that the currency would plummet and the economy would crash. We are not negotiating from a position of strength and we are in no position to dictate terms. The Foreign Office understands this, even if your correspondent does not.

Peter Johnston

Kendal Road

Bolton