Letter: Being a member of the EU has hindered, not helped our trade
Regarding the letter Let's stick to the facts by Megan McGowan, (Shropshire Star, November 13).
I agree that there should be no name calling on the letters page of the Star, and I also agree with Megan that L Thomas is wrong to state that the only people who should be allowed to vote, are those born around 1957. As everyone knows, the voting age is 18 and I think that is about right for the following reasons.
At 18, most people have left school and had some experience of working in the real world and starting to pay their way in life by renting or contributing something to the upkeep of their parents' home.
As for the UK being a successful influential nation that works effectively with others, this worked very well when the UK traded within the commonwealth countries in Africa such as Nigeria, Cameroon, South Africa, Mozambique, also there is Pakistan who left the Commonwealth in 1972 and re-joined in 1989; India, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and there may be more I have missed out.
I honestly cannot see any benefits that the EU can offer a true world power that has traded with every continent and people through out the world, and being in a private members' club without the freedom to trade freely with the rest of the world on our own terms has done more harm than good.
EU regulations are to blame for shutting down your local power station in Ironbridge. EU red tape and bureaucracy has cost business and jobs. VAT a tax on everything we buy is a EU tax that adds to the £50+ million we contribute to the EU every day.
The EU does not stop war, not long ago we had the Balkans War. The EU and the USA are to blame for wars in Ukraine, North Africa and Syria. How is the EU keeping the peace?
Mark Norwood, Whittington
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