European Union

It was good to see the letters from Ian Smith and David Wedgwood (BFP 20th February) as having a good debate on Europe is long overdue and with the elections due this June this year it is timely.

Perhaps Ian and David have chosen not to read the most authoritive independent study on the costs and benefits of EU membership conducted by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research which showed that withdrawal form the EU would lower Britain's GDP by 2.25% permanently. How many people's jobs and livelihoods are Ian and David willing to sacrifice? We've already seen the impact on British jobs of a drop of 1.5% of GDP in the last quarter. UK Gross Domestic product in 2008 was £1,275 billion a 2.25% fall would be £29 billion if we allow for the 'financial savings' claimed by Ian and David we would be £23 billion worse off!

There was a very good reason why the people voted to join the Common Market and Ted Heath took us in. It was Margaret Thatcher who negotiated the powers the EU has in the Maastricht and she was not slow in championing British rights! There is a very good reason why David Cameron, Nick Clegg, and Gordon Brown support continued membership of the EU. It's just plain common sense.

Ian claimed 'every taxpayer' would be better off by £1,799 if we left. Most pensioners don't pay this much in tax! While David claimed a family of four would £3,660 better off. These are fantasy figures! Tax figures change, incomes rise and fall, and tax rates change, but in 2006 the average tax paid per person was £9,200. On this figure Ian suggests withdrawing from Europe would be a 20% tax cut, while Ian claims a 40% tax cut would apply for a family of four with one earner...

The EU has failed in auditing its accounts and the that is a good point to make. Countries that fail to properly EU budget funds should be fined. But the National Audit Office refused to approved the UK government's account in July 2008. We should get out own house in order before criticising others!

The European Commission is made up of appointments made by elected member governments who are rigorously grilled and sometimes rejected. In much the same way our Government appoint people to the Cabinet rather than elect them to those positions. It needs reform. I would rather see the Commission restricted to elected MEP's, but then Europhobics would complain that Europe was becoming a country rather than a confederation of nations states.

Reform is needed not withdrawal.

David claimed that the government had rolled out regional assemblies across the country regardless of the referendum in the North East. Sheer nonsense! We had regional assemblies long before this referendum they have just not been democratically accountable directly to the people of the region. It is a scandalous state of affairs that needs to be addressed, or we will have regional powers with officials and no responsibility to the electorate.

Meanwhile the EU is doing something for the people of Bury St Edmunds. £3.3 million has been available to residents in Bardwell, Barningham, the Fornham villages, Ixworth, Pakenham, Risby, Rougham and Stanton! This is to fund rural businesses and business start-ups. To apply for these funds and find more details residents should contact the Borough Council's Economic Development Unit.

This is an example of the EU doing something for ordinary people when our banks retrench and our government focuses on banks and big business!