Dear Sir,
I feel I have to respond to Bob Flemings article on the EU referendum in The Newton News, 3rd June – what a privilege to be given the opportunity of almost a full page to state his views on why we should vote to leave the EU.
What a shame he wasted his opportunity by doing what the majority of those who support the Leave campaign do. He spent almost 75% of his article with personal attacks on everyone who is campaigning to Remain in the EU, while the rest of the article was mostly spent reminiscing about the past.
Where was the positive message/reasons why he thinks we should leave? Bob needs to get his head out of the sand and consider the global picture.
My question is this, would we be able to tackle some of the big issues better on our own, or as part of the EU? For example: CLIMATE CHANGE, TERRORISM, TAX AVOIDANCE,THE REFUGEE CRISIS AND PROTECTING OUR ECONOMY. I think the answer is obvious. lf we vote to leave our voice and influence will diminish not only in Europe but also with the rest of the world.
One word consistently avoided by the Leave campaign is TARIFFS. If we Remain in the EU we have continued tariff free access to a market of 500 million people. If we vote to Leave we will have to pay tariffs if we wish to continue to trade with members of the EU. This will mean goods and services , both imports and exports, will be more expensive, it will affect profits and put pressure on jobs all of which will slow down economic growth. No one knows what these tariffs will be so it is no wonder the Leave campaign does not want to talk about them.
If we continue to trade with the EU, whether IN or OUT, freedom of movement for EU citizens will continue. This is a two way process, if we stay IN we will continue to enjoy cheap flights and holidays in Europe. If we choose to come out then we won’t.
The UK is not perfect; we have a record number of food banks, deep cuts and austerity caused by under investment in housing, the NHS, roads etc. by this Conservative government.
The EU is not perfect by any means, but my view is that we should REMAIN in and negotiate change by consultation, co-operation and compromise. We have already demonstrated we can do this by ensuring that workers’ rights in the Working Time Directive are enshrined in European Law.
In these global uncertain times we should not create more uncertainty by voting to Leave the EU. VOTE REMAIN ON JUNE 23rd
John Sims