"The Durham Miners Would Never Wear It"

Those were the words that the British Government of the late 1940s wrote across the plans for the EU's first precursor, before duly sending them back.

That was that.

"The Durham Miners would never wear it." So the United Kingdom's answer was no.

That meant the Durham Miners' Association, with its vast network of national and international contacts.

But it also meant the miners themselves, who were the basis of that Association's wealth and power.

Today, we learned that last year, for the first time on record, more people died in the North East of England than were born here.

Get out and vote.