EU has provided great opportunities

Dear Sir,

Will our economy be weaker or stronger if Britain leaves the EU? No one can be absolutely certain but not one person telling us that we should leave is offering any guarantee at all that we will be better off. Some of them seem to delight in the idea that we should all jump off a cliff, not knowing whether the tide is in or out.

We have been part of the European economic system for more than 40 years and far from holding us back it has created great opportunities for British firms. Countries like Germany with huge global export markets for manufactured goods show that there is nothing in EU rules and trade agreements that need stop us gaining more business overseas by forging direct links with other countries.

British ministers, civil servants, MEPs and business representatives today play a key role in shaping the common standards and regulations that create a level playing field for business in the world's largest trading block. If we leave the EU we will have to conform to these rules in order to sell our goods and services. If Britain is to be strong it has to be in the room where the decisions are made so that we benefit from them

Yours sincerely,

Dr Peter Hirst

Middlewich