This Thursday - Vote LEAVE

Last week in my Crawley Observer column I wrote about this week's historic EU Referendum, a manifesto commitment that David Cameron and the Conservative Government have delivered on.

Next week, our historic vote takes place on whether to either remain in or leave the EU. This will be it folks, our only opportunity to leave and we won’t be getting another vote. I urge everyone to use their vote and to make a choice that is best for our long-term future and democracy, not to vote on short-term uncertainties. That means voting for Leave.

Both sides in the referendum have come out with daft statements but the scare-mongering and the inaccuracies from the Remain side have been truly appalling. If we leave, we are not going to stop trading with Europe, we are not going to see the economy crash and the ridiculous claim that it will be harder to buy a home couldn’t be further from the truth.

The reality is that the UK’s inability to have any control over high levels of net EU migration is the largest contributing factor to the demand side of the supply and demand equation for housing. Only by leaving the EU and taking back control with a manageable and sustainable level of population growth can we start to get to grips with the housing crisis. The alternative is to see housing become ever more unaffordable for our young people and future generations.
 
There may be some short-term issues to resolve if we leave the EU, but when voting I say think about getting this right for the long term. The EU is of course is famous for making terrible short-term political decisions over sensible long-term economics. For example, the EU fudged the criteria for Greece to join the Euro in 2002 and then didn’t allow it to leave, creating economic chaos across the entire Eurozone.

Finally, we should never forget that many of those desperate for the EU to govern us are the same people saying the UK would become an economic disaster by not joining the Euro. They were wrong then and they are wrong now. Voting to leave is a positive vote that recognises we are better making decisions for ourselves as a country. Let’s take back control.