THE main media saw the European election as being all about Gordon Brown, a little about the BNP and about the expected low voting turnout due to our anger over MPs’ expenses.

Actually, I’m surprised the voting turnout wasn’t worse. On election day itself the whole subject suddenly hit a media blackout.

Incredibly, I heard no mention of it being the day of the EU election on either the radio or the BBC news.

Well, what did happen on election day was an enormous increase in support for the UK Independence Party. Nationally, we came second, behind the increasingly Eurosceptic Tories.

This was not a protest vote. It was a message from an increasing number of our population that the EU is becoming better understood and found seriously wanting as a replacement government for running our country.

So next time, media men, please could the EU election be all about the EU? We want a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, after its contents are openly debated and then another referendum on EU membership.

We’ve been lied to, kept in the dark and treated with contempt by our banks and politicians. Now we want our country back.

Charlotte Bull, UK Independence Party, Darlington.