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Regaining sovereignty

READING the heading (‘We are stronger together’ – Adver, April 26), I thought of the UK.

However, casting my eye down the page I saw a strange name, Alex Hegenbarth, head of Britain Stronger In Europe – I thought the job was already taken by Will Straw.

What do we know about this man? He is a Liberal Democrat. Weren’t the Lib Dems almost annihilated in the last General Election?

After reading the usual Remain guff, I picked up on the last sentence: “Let’s remain influential in the world.”

Surely we have to leave to achieve that? We have not been very influential in the EU so far, having been voted down 80 times on as many occasions – some influence.

Even now, despite the EU, we are the fifth largest economy in the world, ahead of France and just behind Germany.

Why does the Remain camp talk this country down? We have been a world power for centuries.

This country has never voted to be a member of the EU, the last referendum related to the EEC, a trading bloc, not as it has become, an undemocratic union ruled by unelected bureaucrats.

It is plain to see the EU is desperately trying extend its influence by clawing in incompatible countries such as Turkey and Albania.

As if there are not enough problems with the number of economic migrants already on our shores. We ain’t seen nothing yet if these countries join.

As members of the EU we can do nothing about it.

Vote Leave is the only sane thing to do to regain our sovereignty.

Sovereignty is understood in jurisprudence as the right and power of a governing body to govern itself without interference from outside sources. Please note well.

HENRY SMITH

Peatmoor, Swindon

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Work with EU partners

THE leak of the ‘Panama papers’ shows how powerless and unwilling the UK Government is to bring a halt to the practices used by some of the world’s richest people and multi-nationals to avoid paying their share of tax.

To tackle this we need more international co-operation and the way to do this is to remain in Europe.

Having ordered Starbucks to repay €30m, the EU’s investigations into €7bn of unpaid taxes from Apple do a lot to justify the EU’s position as a world leader in the fight against tax avoidance.

The EU has also presented its new proposals for clamping down on tax avoidance, which will force large multi-nationals operating in the EU to disclose their earnings and tax bills.

These are crucial steps towards increasing transparency and information-sharing between countries and preventing companies from generating profits in one country and paying tax in another.

In the run up to June 23 we should remember we can achieve more in the world if we work with our European partners and take a lead in the EU.

ALEX HEGENBARTH

Head of Britain Stronger In Europe

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Press barons angst

CERTAIN right wing press barons repeatedly use fear of migration to push their anti-EU arguments.

A recent headline proclaimed that there were now 1.6 million EU migrants in the UK. It sounds a lot – but as a percentage of the total UK population it comes out at just 2.5 per cent.

They did not mention, of course, that a massive 97.5 per cent of the British population are not EU migrants.

According to new research, published in the Economic Journal, by the Centre For Research And Analysis Of Migration at University College London, EU migrants paid £25bn more in tax to the UK treasury between 2001 and 2011than they received in welfare benefits.

The UK economy benefited most from migrants from the western EU countries who contributed 64 per cent more in taxes than they received in benefits.

But even migrants from the 10 central and east European countries who joined in 2004 contributed 12 per cent more than they received.

This contrasts sharply with the owners of the anti-EU press. Some are not even resident in the UK or have been documented as avoiding tax.

So we have these wealthy, powerful men seeking to profoundly influence British politics while not contributing their fair share to maintaining the NHS, the Armed Forces and other benefits which they enjoy.

They are attacking EU migrants who are actually paying their fair share of taxes and not seeking to avoid them.

A P MILROY

Bellefield Crescent, Trowbridge

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Reason to vote out

IT HAS been interesting but hardly surprising to observe the so-called great and the good line up in favour of EU membership.

Since this elite benefits hugely from the current arrangements at the expense of the rest of us, in the words of Mandy Rice-Davies, they would say that wouldn’t they?

The question is do the current arrangements work for ordinary people? Unless you consider the likes of Philip Green of BHS fame ordinary, I suggest not.

The democratic deficit at the heart of the EU means we cannot ever achieve change through the ballot box and so we will continue to see the enrichment of a privileged few at the expense of the many.

That is perhaps the most powerful reason to vote out.

GUY GREEN

Old Town, Swindon

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What to do next...

RECENT history often throws light on what we should do next.

The President of the USA wishes Britain to stay in Europe. What does recent history tell us? McKercher’s The Struggle For Supremacy traces the progress of the dollar and the pound. From 1914 to 1947 there was little change: The pound being valued at just over four dollars.

By 2009 a pound was worth one dollar 37 cents, its lowest for 25 years.

What should we do now?

PETER W READ

Groundwell Road, Swindon