My vision of the EU has been wrecked

Alan Forrest (Maybe Julian Can Spell Hippocrit, Letters and Opinion, Gazette) is right to say: “‘We need an EU that enhances economic growth and prosperity in eastern Europe and in countries like Greece… where people in Romania, for example, have good jobs and can afford to buy things made in Canterbury or Whitstable or Herne Bay”.

That is the vision of Europe which I voted for 40 years ago in the referendum on the then European Economic Community.

It is time to wake up and realise that the introduction of the euro is wrecking countries like Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal, as well as the eastern European countries which trade with the Eurozone.

Eight years on from the economic downturn, they still have impossibly high rates of unemployment.

As their young people pour into Britain in search of work, they drive down wages here.

Lord Rose, the chairman of Britain Stronger In Europe, openly admitted that at a recent parliamentary hearing.

What is good for big business in the short term is not always good for families and the country.

If Canada and Australia can thrive outside the EU, building their own trade agreements, so can we.

In the process we can recover control of our borders, save billions of pounds in EU contributions and restore the power of our democratically elected parliament.

May I say that, when I read the sneering tone of some of your correspondents, I understand why so many young people want nothing to do with politics.

Surely it should still be possible to disagree on important matters without making personal attacks. Julian Brazier MP House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA

By all accounts there are a large number of eligible voters both in the UK and abroad who have yet to make up their minds on which way to vote in the forthcoming EU ‘in-out’ referendum.

There has been a lot of nonsense spoken by people who should know better on both sides of the debate.

Therefore it should not be surprising if people are confused.

When the official campaign starts, it should be incumbent on the media to televise a debate, chaired by an impartial senior member of the judiciary.

The House of Commons library produces excellent briefing papers that set out the background and stages of the UK’S referendum for remaining in or leaving the European Union and present an impartial view of the different arguments and opinions.

These facts should form the basis of the discussion and would, I feel sure, be beneficial in helping people on which way to vote.

Whatever the outcome, I sincerely hope that we will respect the majority view and each others’ opinions.

We are a proud people and citizens of a great nation.

The UK has shaped history in the past and no doubt will continue to do so in the future. Michael Clark Meadow Close, Bridge

I read the following historical recollection: “Castiglione himself recognised that Italians had a reputation for vanity and dissolute behaviour, and this ill repute drew negative comment from, among others, the educational theorist Roger Ascham, sometime tutor of the future Queen Elizabeth.

“In Castiglione’s praise of grace, Ascham saw a weakness for empty sophistication.

“He thought that reading Castiglione was less harmful than travelling to Italy, which was sure to encourage lust and other vices.

“But Italianate Englishment, however they were formed, seemed dangerous in their ambition.

“Ascham’s attitudes were influential, and he reduced upper-class enthusiasm for foreign travel, which would not fully recover from his opprobrium until the 18th century.”

That came from Sorry! The English And Their Manners by Henry Hitchings published by John Murray.

Seems opprobrium is gaining momentum again with regard to the Continent! Isabel Fernandez-hearn Borstal Hill, Whitstable