There are many people who would like Britain to leave the European Union. But the question is rarely asked if Britain would be allowed to do so. In this booklet historian Rupert Matthews looks at previous multinational associations such as the League of Delos and the United States America. He traces how there is an inexorable tendency for powers to accrue to the centre and for the interests of the member states to be ignored. The associations that were formed voluntarily always react with violence whem member states seek to leave.

Rupert then looks at the current constitutional arrangements of the EU and shows how the EU Commission has taken to itself the legal powers to frustrate attempts at secession. Chillingly he outlines the legal powers that the EU Commission has to deploy military force into member states. We might yet see the panzers in Parliament Square.

Rupert Matthews is an historian who has had more than 150 books published on a range of subjects. He stood for the Conservative Party in the European Elections of 2009 and in the General Election of 1997.