I HAVE just read Neil Carmichael’s latest newsletter, and although I find it very difficult, I have to admit that I actually agree with him that we should stay in the EU.

Having said that, I would like to know where he gets his information from to claim that “we are stronger, safer and better off in the EU.”

He may well be correct; only time will tell, but he doesn’t know that any more than we do.

Personally I think there are several very good reasons for staying in the EU and they are all verifiable.

Space prevents listing them all so I would just list the top three:

1. Boris Johnson.

A very wealthy clown who just happens to be the former mayor of London.

Ex member of the Bullingdon club and has designs on getting into government.

2. Nigel Farage.

A sadly very misguided individual who seems to spend most of his time in pubs and who has very worrying views about people not born in this country except those he decides are OK.

3. Iain Duncan Smith with Michael Gove very close on his heels.

He was of course the Secretary of State for Work & Pensions until he dramatically resigned, supposedly about cuts to his budget but more likely so that he could campaign to leave the EU without such a conflict of interest.

Looking at Wikipedia he doesn’t seem to have any useful qualifications to be part of a government at all.

Presumably, if we do leave the EU all of the above will want to be part of the government.

That would surely be worse than the one we have at the moment, although it’s difficult to imagine.

All of the “Leavers” keep saying we want our sovereignty back, to be able to make our own decisions.

We currently have a government that less than one quarter of the electorate voted for and a House of Lords that no one voted for, so it doesn’t seem likely that, whatever happens in the referendum, decisions in Westminster will be taken with the majority of us in mind any time soon.

I think it’s very clear that those advocating a vote to leave are without doubt the best reason for us to stay.

Howard Price

Nailsworth