It’s time for you to decide future direction of nation
WHAT is described as the ‘most important ballot in a generation’ will take place tomorrow as Stockport - and the rest of the UK - votes in the EU referendum.
The country will decide whether to stay in the European Union or leave after being a member since 1973.
Over the last few months the debate on what is best has often been heated.
So we have given people from both sides of the argument a final chance to convince readers of their point of view. ●●CHRIS Davies, Liberal Democrat MEP (remain) ON Thursday it is very possible that we will shoot ourselves in the foot while claiming that it’s for our own good.
If voters demand that Britain leaves the European Union our country will be weaker not stronger.
It’s been said that Britain (the second largest economic power in Europe) gets ‘pushed around’. But we created the EU single market, and we did so to help ourselves not to help others.
To call now for the country to leave the world’s largest trading block is just mind-bogglingly stupid. It is bound to damage the economy and force more cuts in services.
It’s been said that we need to ‘reclaim our borders’, but we already control our borders.
The biggest concern is about accommodating asylum seekers, but we can’t do anything about the problems of Syria or Libya by ourselves.
It’s been said that we are ‘held back’ by European rules and regulations. What nonsense! Our exporters used to have to deal with 28 different sets of regulations and now they often have just one.
Our environment is better than ever before. Our work places are safer. Greedy bankers are more tightly controlled. These are good things are they not?
Twenty-eight nations now work together in peace on matters of common concern.
When we have a dispute we don’t send young people off to die on battlefields, we set up a subcommittee in Brussels.
Europe’s dictatorships have become democracies, and the EU Treaty opens by defending human rights, the rule of law and the protection of minorities.
These British values are now European values and we should be proud of that.
There should be no thought of leaving. Britain’s positive role should be to provide strong leadership, and to make sure that the EU is a force for good in the world. ●●JOHN Kelly, chairman of Stockport UKIP (leave) JUNE 23, the most important day in 1,000 years for our island home.
We can vote to leave the EU. For those in fear, I say this: Why would you cling to a failed economy with up to 65 per cent unemployed when there is a success story being created in the UK?
The EU is an economic disaster, smashing its economy and relocating industry abroad to fulfil pointless climate obligations.
We don’t need to follow, we can save our steel industry, we can reclaim our fishing grounds, we already have an automotive industry, we must just stop listening to career politicians doing us down from Westminster.
The ‘remainiacs’ say we will lose trade, influence and our NHS. The Trans Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) will be the death of the NHS.
Trade will continue anyway, we have no agreement with the US but iPhones, McDonald’s and Gillette razors are sold here and this was written in Microsoft Word.
There are risks ahead whatever we decide. Outside EU, we manage them, inside we have stuff done to us that’s not in our interests by anonymous bureaucrats.
As for influence, of our 73 MEPs, only 20 are in mainstream groups of the parliament. Our influence is zero, we don’t participate.
We cannot until we return 73 little federalists to join Angela’s (German leader Angela Merkel) party and shape the brave new EU, only to watch it crash and burn while the rest of the world laughs.
Alternatively, vote leave and take our place again at the top table of the worlds largest economies.
If you love Europe as I do, vote leave on the 23rd. Then we can help our friends rebuild a trading block of sovereign nations.