i think though that the club we joined was not one to create a single european superstate controlled by germany and france?

if they change the "club" without letting everyone have a fair say in the changes, then the democratic solution is to vote with your feet and leave.

Scaremongering that will only do the Uk economy harm, the media should watch what it prints. The truth is that the UK will only have a referendum after a full public debate on the pro's and con's of the issue. The last time that happened, the mid 70's, at the start of the debate the UK registered a huge "no" to the EU, by the time campaigning finished the actual vote was an overwhelming "yes".

The "no" at the beginning was an emotional gut reaction from the man in the street, after the debate, when people had been exposed to the arguments on both sides, the actual vote produced an informed, balanced judgement by the Uk population. The same will happen with this referendum (assuming it ever happens which is, by no means certain as it rests on Cameron being re-elected, even then not certain as he promised the electorate a vote before he was elected in the last election but wheedled his way out of giving one)

Quite agree with that. The only reason Germany and France have so much influence on the EU is that they are totally committed to it so, the members who are most committed carry the most influence that would be true in most organisation. The UK could and would carry more clout if (mainly) the conservatives anti's would just shut up and the media didn't give them so much coverage. The "anti" feeling is actually fueled by the medias coverage of the anti lobby, if they covered the pro lobby as much then most of the public's antipathy would disappear.