Kept in dark by bias of the national media

Re The Scarborough News special report on Brexit and the options:

I would vote as I did before, to remain in the EU.

The UK has become the world’s fifth richest country during our membership.

We have the potential to be a leading player in the tarifffree market of 500m people in 27 countries, but are held back by ideological squabbles, lack of forward planning and politicians who put party before country.

My top concerns are: •The

lack of unbiased information concerning how the EU is managed and all the benefits of UK membership. The British have been kept in the dark for years by a highly prejudiced national media (owned mostly by a handful of immensely rich men who do not live here) and political manoeuvring by selfseeking individuals. We need facts upon which to base judgements, not lies or half-truths. •You

do not have friends in global business. The world operates today in ways unheard of 30 years ago, thanks to the IT revolution and it is developing all the time. We are far more powerful as part of a united bloc than as a small player making deals here and there, then probably being usurped by larger rivals. Even so, contrary to what some say, there is competition within the EU. In 2012, much to PM Cameron’s disappointment, India chose to seal a £7billion deal with France rather than Britain, to purchase their fighter jets.

In April 2016, the French beat Germany (and Japan) to win a contract worth $50billion to build a fleet of new submarines for the Australian navy. And the losers had thought they were best buddies with their prospective clients. What will future generations inherit? Governments have failed for decades to plan ahead, notably in not preparing our young people for work opportunities within the EU - the lamentable record on Modern Language provision is one glaring example. •Immigration.

This has been a major issue, yet most immigrants come from nonEU countries, often via UN charters or on visas. Nonetheless, forward-thinking governments could have used existing EU legislation (covers benefits provision, work and National Insurance) to extend greater control over numbers coming to Britain, but they did not. It is a genuine, indeed huge concern to many British people but governments have failed repeatedly to put proper mechanisms in place which would allay people’s fears whilst allowing constructive immigration. •Barring

the occasional natural disaster, every major problem endured by the people of this country traces its origins back to the lime-green benches at Westminster. The Brexit process is far too important for all our futures to be left in the hands of blinkered egoists and short-term opportunists - we need the best brains working together to find the best way forward, but I will not hold my breath. Richard Bedford Green Park Road, Cayton have any influence on the way we trade.

2) The economy is a great concern, If we leave and have any trade barriers imposed, customs checks, tariffs etc, then remembering that a lot of factories are essentially assembly plants, then the economics of moving factories to the EU from the UK becomes tempting. Remember that manufacturing across Europe is heavily linked with supply chains. Remember that Guinness is brewed in Dublin, but bottled in Belfast, for example. Fishermen should remember that a lot of our fishing catch is shipped to continental Europe, similarly for farmers, Europe is a large market.

3) “We can have trade deals with the rest of the world.” A wonderful soundbite, but trade deals do not necessarily expand trade, and trade deals take a long time to negotiate, ‘Johnny Foreigner’ does not want to buy our expensive, high quality products, he wants to sell us his rubbish. Consider the case of USA chickens, dipped in acid to clean them ....

We have the worst government in 200 years, Cameron (the worst prime minister in 200 years) got us into this mess, and May (the second worse prime minister in 200 years) seems to have no credible plan to get us out of it!

Bernard Gospel Bridge Close, Burniston Leave. We all were asked a simple question in or out.

My main concerns were immigration not on a racist front but the lack of infrastructure such as schools, transport, housing and our ability to cope with the huge population increase.

Secondly the direction the EU is travelling as it’s far different to the agreement that was signed up to before I was born and yet successive governments have dodged giving the UK electorate a say on such matters.

Lastly the issue of the European Court of Justice and its ability to overturn decisions made by British courts.

The UK voted Leave and attempts to derail and stop that would mean we don’t live in a democracy.

Brexit should be carried out. Only after the event are politicians now trying to say we need another say as we made the wrong choice and should halt the process.

If politicians were half as good as they say they are, then they should have read the public mood better and foreseen a Leave vote was a real possibility instead of being so arrogant that the UK people were as pro-EU as them.

Maybe if we got huge pensions and payouts from the EU like many of them we’d have voted remain. David Baker Long Walk Scarborough the sooner we are out the better. Dr Stephen Wright Royal Crescent South Cliff, Scarborough