Dear Syd

I am not one for tit for tat letters in the Newton News however I really don’t think Alastair Welsh read my letter. For one thing he got my name wrong! My letter was based on facts which Mr Welsh seems to doubt for example he states, “if this is indeed a fact ….” with regard to the funding our area receives. I will quote from a letter from our MEP, Jude Kirkton-Darling, which was in the Northern Echo on March 26th 2016 :- “Britain gets more out of the EU than we put in. In fact for every £1 we put into the EU we get £10 through jobs growth and trade.

In the North East, because we are a net beneficiary, not only do we get the £10, we have the original £1 returned to us, mostly through regional development funding.” The MEP must surely know what she is talking about, it seems the EU don’t have spare tax money from our area to distribute elsewhere in Europe!

If as Mr Welsh states, “After the New Labour era I have come to realise that the North East is poor because it predominately votes Labour!” The North South divide was very evident for many years before New Labour. This is not meant to be a political point – just a well-known fact. Anyone who knows me knows that I am certainly not a Labour supporter, 12 years in opposition on the Town Council should amply support this and I am not a member of any political party so my letters are therefore not intended to be politically biased. However, Mr Welsh’s anti-Labour comments quite clearly show he is politically biased.

It is a myth that the country will be £15million better off outside the EU. We will have to pay for trade agreements, etc. outside of the EU so we could actually be a lot worse off. To think that after Brexit this area will no longer be paying a Council Tax rise of over 12 times more than London is a definite no brainer!

My personal view, which is based on available facts, is that the North East will certainly NOT be better off outside the EU for reasons stated in my previous letter. Like Mr Welsh I am entitled to an opinion as I have a mind of my own; times have changed since the days of Dickens.

I don’t think the EU is all perfect but I don’t blame it for everything and like in most relationships you have to weigh the good against the bad and make a decision based on factual evidence. From the evidence, I believe that we in the North East, will be better staying within the European Union.

Andrea Bergg

Lascelles Ave.