I have noticed a splurge of anti–EU letters in the Oxford Mail, all calling for a referendum on membership. One of the funniest was on October 21, where the writer blamed Gordon Brown for not having a referendum to join the EU.

It’s difficult for the UK Government, of course, using the EU as a whipping boy for every problem we are confronted with, from rising energy costs to an inability to produce railway carriages at a reasonable cost, and using the UK media to broadcast these fallacies.

But there’s a very good reason why no UK government of any colour would actually consider taking the UK out of the EU and that’s because it would be economic suicide. Around 50 per cent of our exports and imports are with the EU and it’s no good at all suggesting that would continue whether a member or not. The EU prefers to trade with the EU; not only that, in the case of large Government contracts, it has no alternative due to EU procurement laws. If there was an alternative in using another trading partner or partners, we would already be doing it.

Our unemployment figures, already at traditional Conservative levels, would go through the roof. So please get over it, there’s hardly a queue of EU members wanting to leave, though they are quite entitled to.

Finally in regards to the Euro, if the Labour Government in 2007 had the courage to take us into the Euro when the pound was 30.9 per cent higher in value against the Euro, all our imported energy costs would be that much cheaper, as indeed would most of our imports.

R LEE, Burford Road, Witney