NJ Yeomans is right to criticise the Conservative party's schizophrenic manifesto for the European elections but wrong to suggest that leaving the EU would solve anything (Letters, May 20).
Withdrawing from the EU would lead to a massive loss of trade and jobs in this country and would squander the international influence we gain via the EU in areas such as trade and environmental negotiations.
Just look at non-EU Norway, which still has to implement European regulations in order to trade in the EU's single market but which has no influence over how those rules are drawn up because it is not a member.
Perhaps that is why opinion polls suggest there is now a majority in Norway in favour of joining the EU.
The Tories meanwhile pretend Britain can have it both ways by staying in the EU while "renegotiating" treaties they agreed and signed when in government but which they now reject for political expediency.
Their obsession with EU regulations is also misplaced. The volume of European laws in place has remained broadly stable for the past decade, with as many regulations expiring or being scrapped as new rules are passed.
The last big rise in EU regulation was in the early Nineties when new laws were implemented to create the hugely successful single market, a pet project of Lady Thatcher.
The only choice available to this country is actively to engage in the EU in order to use our influence positively and shape the system to our advantage. It is as much our EU as anyone else's.
-Giles Goodall, Steyning
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article