THE reasons Derrick Holt gives for staying in the EU (January 19) do not stand up to scrutiny.

As a member of the EU, Britain can only negotiate trade deals as one voice among 28, all of which have differing needs, a process which is often painfully slow and not necessarily to our advantage.

To give one example, our steel industry is being destroyed because of the EU’s failure to agree tariffs on imports of cheap Chinese steel. In America such a process takes only 45 days, with the EU it has been going on for over a year.

Mr Holt wonders whether bad management is to blame for Britain’s industrial decline. Does he not realise that under EU rules all contracts must be put out to tender across all EU countries? Hence Siemens getting the Thameslink contract rather than our own Bombardier, to name but one case.

Also, historically, our Government has been reluctant to put money into British inventions, as well as our core industries. Why don’t they support our steel industry, thereby saving British jobs?

All British businesses have to implement EU regulations, whether or not they trade with EU countries, and almost 90 per cent do not.

Many of our small businesses cannot afford the time required to deal with the flood of regulation and are forced to cease trading. How is that good for Britain?

Free of the EU we can make our own trade deals again. If Iceland and Switzerland can, then so can we, and we are the world’s fifth-largest economy. The world outside is far bigger than the stagnating EU. The sooner we leave the EU the better.

STEPHEN NASH
Washington Terrace, Middle Barton