LETTER: Government for the people

He really should have grasped by now that UKIP wants to control (not stop) immigration, which is one reason why Lib Dem and Tory votes fell by around 60 per cent and 40 per cent respectively, between the 2009 and 2013 West Sussex County Council elections, whilst UKIP’s vote increased by 170 per cent.

It is only common sense to want to control the rate of immigration and voters want politicians who have the stomach to do that.

Even the Labour Party accepts that they should not have left the door open to unrestricted immigration for so long, whilst the Coalition Government responded to the May elections, by sending a multi-coloured van around the streets.

Mr Price may also have noted that the Coalition Government has reneged on its promises of Localism and that I regularly challenge Ministers in that context, whilst many councillors have simply accepted the unrealistic 20 year target of around 600 houses per annum, set for the district.

Since the low rate of house building is largely due to a progressive drop in disposable incomes, perhaps Mr Price could advise how he would force developers to build houses.

It should also be clear that political ties are not a pre-requisite for successful trading between nations.

Indeed the Swiss concluded in 2006 that full EU membership would cost many times more than the value of their current bilateral agreements with EU countries and they stayed out.

Of course the USA has concluded Free Trade Agreements with Singapore, Australia, Chile, Bahrain, Jordan and Morocco and has been negotiating similar deals with Ecuador and Qatar. As signatory to the World Trade Organisation, the US cannot impose tariffs (on a member) higher than those levied against other members.

EU economic output has declined from over 25 per cent of world GDP in 1991, to around 19 per cent in 2012 and according to Citibank, it is likely to fall to around seven per cent by 2050.

On the other hand, British exports to non-European markets have increased greatly in recent months and our entrepreneurs could do even better without the EU strait-jacket, creating more real jobs and improved disposable incomes.

It is clearly nonsensical to believe that the Germans would stop selling us cars if we left the EU, or that the Eurozone problems will be resolved soon, ie through fiscal and political union.

Of course, many people in the UK do not want ever-closer union and no one has the right to deny them a choice, in the light of an objective cost/benefit analysis such as the Swiss produced.

Mr Price suggests that the UK would have less effect on world events from outside of the EU, when it is only a few weeks since the British Parliament decided not to attack Syria.

Who does he think would make such decisions, after the UK has been dragged into political union?

Mr Cameron not only failed to provide the promised EU referendum but also abandoned key Tory values in his quest for ‘modernisation’.

He alienated many councillors including myself who then abandoned him, whilst continuing to meet the commitments in the manifesto against which they were elected, unconstrained by a party whip.

It should be clear by now that I do not accept the diet of spin and deception that has been increasingly promoted by the main political classes, many of whom are amateurs.

Neither do I want the UK to become one of many states in a Soviet Republic of Europe, unless the majority of people decide that that is what they want. Unlike the political classes, UKIP wants to see an early return to government for the people by the people.

Many will be increasingly concerned that the British Parliament is becoming progressively redundant and we will see clear evidence of that concern in next year’s European Elections.

ROGER ARTHUR

(UKIP) Horsham district councillor for Chanctonbury ward and prospective parliamentary canbdidate for Horsham, North Street, Horsham