Working with Europe rebuilt our nation

C DARLINGTON asks (Letters Sept 12) ‘On what planet does Chris Lomas exist?’ Like most of us, I live on the third rock from the sun; a beautiful blue planet perfect for many life forms to thrive.

I was born on the larger of two small islands, situated off the coast of northern Europe, called the Britsh Isles. This was near the end of the war in a century which had seen two world wars cripple the UK. We were on the verge of bankruptcy and struggled to feed ourselves for some years. Who remembers rationing?

By the mid-70s this once great nation was a basket case. Rampant inflation and continuous strikes had left tons of rubbish on the streets, the dead unburied, petrol coupons and electricity for only a limited number of hours each week.

Despite all this, Europe welcomed us to join their club, an organisation which Churchill

had proposed in 1944, and which had kept the peace in Europe for 30 years. No wars for that long had never happened before and that now spans 73 years. Help from our new European friends was probably the greatest single factor which enabled our country to pull through. We now pay into the EU more money than we take out, being the third highest payer behind Germany and France. This seems fair enough because our economy is the third strongest in the EU. Back in the 70s, we took out much more than we paid in, and this played a large part in bringing our economy round.

Seventy years after the end of the war, Mr Darlington tells us the Germans cannot be trusted. I have to ask him what planet he comes from?

Could it be that small, cold and mean planet called Xeno- phobia? On the positive side, I have to congratulate Mr Darlington on his honesty. Chris Lomas,

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