[RandomThoughts3]

> And a society that separates its politicians from its people is as bad as that quote about separating its scholars from its warriors.

So you hate all modern democracies actually and it has nothing to do with the EU. Thank you that makes things a lot more clear.

> I write to my MP - who is a named individual representing a fairly small number of people who can therefore actually hold him accountable

It can be exactly the same for MEP. Countries are free to use a per region vote if they want. Turn out the UK chose to have national lists but France had 8 regional zones until 2018. It was entirely a UK decision.

Plus all MEP’s votes are public and easy to consult and they all have an address you can write to. The fact that people don’t even bother remembering how they are called is not per se a deficit of democracy in the EU.