As readers of the Crawley Observer will be aware, there will be a referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union on Thursday, 23rd June.
I have been sceptical about the EU for many years, and I have been proud to continue to vote in favour of a referendum. This pledge has now been realised because of the majority Conservative Government, led by David Cameron, elected at the 2015 General Election.
I will be voting for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union for numerous reasons, but primarily because our long and great history of freedom, democracy as well as global connectivity has been increasingly threatened.
If we remain, our country will continue to lose power and money to the EU – but if we Vote Leave, we can replace the broken relationship with a new partnership based on free trade, and friendly co-operation.
As the rest of the EU becomes more and more integrated, we can look across to Switzerland; a multi-lingual, central European nation with one of the most successful economies in the world, which has rejected EU membership. The UK outside the EU, like the Swiss now, could agree its own free trade agreements without having to get EU approval.
One of my key concerns is that of democracy. If you do not like a Government in Westminster or your local council leadership then you can easily vote them out. However, any elected Government in Westminster is constrained by rules and regulations imposed by a highly centralised and largely un-democratic EU.
I appreciate that while there will be many in Crawley who share my views, there will also be others who do not agree, and some who will be using the coming months to make up their minds.
Crucially, everyone who is registered to vote has an equal say. At the ballot box, you and I have as much of a say as the Prime Minister.