One of the most common misconceptions among not just young people, but the wider electorate, is that the European Union issue is somehow isolated and seperate from the domestic agenda within British politics.

Recently at Royal Holloway, University of London, after I had spoken about why I believe young people should support the UK being outside of the EU, a very reasonable young man illustrated this point very well. He made the point that in his opinion the EU issue was and would never be as relevant as UKIP would like, as it was an issue that only had limited effects on a small amount of areas in British politics. I countered by pointing out that the tentacles of EU leglisation and harmonisation effect the lives of those that live in this country profoundly, as they interefere with virtually every policy area that could be considered a "domestic issue". These issues, contrary to popular belief, are not isolated from the EU issue - they are utterly connected. In a series of articles entitled "EU and Me", I will cite just some of the countless examples that can be used to demonstrate that the European Union has a profound - and undisputable - effect on Britain in virtually every single domestic policy issue that there is.

The National Health Service is understandbly shown to be high up on voters concearns in every British electoral cycle. Efficency and cost are the usual arguments that are based around the issue when debated, yet there is a new, potentially extremely damaging new development in the pipeline. John Black, the President of the Royal College of Surgeons, is obviously a man highly involved in the medical profession and is the type of figure who one expects to have a real understanding of the challenges the NHS faces. Recently he has branded the EU Working Time Directive, which will impose a limit of working 48-hours per week on British workers, as "insane". At the moment, Britain has an opt-out which means that workers can choose how long they work. It may seem like common sene for workers to be able to determine how many hours they work, after all it is they who must budget for themselves and take care of their financial obligations, and not the bureaucrats sitting pretty in Brussels. Yet tomorrow in the Council of Ministers, the British opt-out could be abolished, and the workings of the NHS could radically change as surgeons have to divide their time in ways they never have had to before (with good reason). This comes after the European Members of Parliament, the vast majority of whom of course represent countries other than the UK, voted in support of ending Britain's opt-out despite having no mandate from the British people to make such a decision. And what an issue it is; ending the 48-hour opt-out may end up not being an issue simply of reducing efficiency and causing chaos, but of costing lives.

The sad part is that the British electorate cannot intervene and have no say in what is going on. No magical veto exists despite Labour's claims that we are still ruled from Westminster and not Brussels. The British government, even against such a measure, cannot stop the opt-out being abolished. Neither, if it comes into force, can the British people. That is, unless they start to see the hugely dentrimental effect the EU is having on increasing areas of British society and realise that we would be better off trading with our European neighbours, but getting out of a political union that we last had a say on in 1975.