The only way is Brexit – MEP Roger Helmer

By Roger Helmer RogerHelmer

Roger Helmer has represented East Midlands Constituents in the European Parliament since he was first elected in 1999. After representing the Conservative Party in three elections, Roger moved to UKIP in 2012. He is campaigning for Britain to leave the EU.

Brexit: It’s not about “isolation”, or “pulling up the drawbridge”. It’s about facing outward to the world, rather than inward to a self-referential, protectionist and dysfunctional EU. It’s not about looking back nostalgically to old-fashioned dreams of Empire. It’s about growth and prosperity and competitiveness now, in the 21st century.

It’s certainly not about stopping immigration and disliking foreigners. There’s no question (for example) of sending home foreign doctors or nurses in our NHS (but we will be able to send home foreign criminals and terrorists).

We understand how much immigrants have contributed to our society and our economy, but the numbers are now so high, they’re threatening our social cohesion and our social services.

So we want managed immigration and a points-based system, like they have in Australia. That will be colour-blind and non-discriminatory, based on skills not nationality.

Common sense – but we can’t do it while we’re in the EU.

You’ve heard all sorts of dire threats about an “economic shock”, and the damage it could do to jobs, the NHS and so on

But all those threats are based on the idea that the pound will fall and trade will stop. Both these ideas are nonsense.

We’re the world’s fifth largest economy – our currency is a better bet than the Euro, which is a disaster in the making. The Euro is a bankruptcy machine that has brought economic depression and unemployment to most of southern Europe.

When we leave the EU, we will be Europe’s largest export customer, bar none. UK/EU trade is too important to be interrupted – and we buy far more from them that they buy from us, so the trade is even more important to their side.

We’ll still be buying their BMWs and Audis. They’ll still buy our Toyotas and Jaguars. If the European Commission tries to delay a trade agreement, they’ll find the leaders of continental industries kicking their doors down.

The Remain side warns us of job losses when we leave. I worry about the jobs we’re losing today, as a result of EU legislation.

It’s not just steel and Port Talbot – industries like aluminium, chemicals and fertilisers, glass, ceramics, cement, and petroleum refining are being driven out of the UK, and the EU, by perverse energy policies. We’ve lost our fisheries, our fine art auctions, our clinical trials because of EU regulation, and our ports and our financial services are threatened.

The economic arguments are in favour of Brexit – but the real issue is democracy and independence.

We don’t want to “turn our backs” on Europe. We want to trade and cooperate with Europe – but we want to be a free and democratic country where we govern ourselves and make our own laws. We want to be good neighbours, not bad tenants. We are the world’s fifth largest economy, yet Remain implies we’re not capable of governing ourselves or making our way in the world.

We on the Leave side believe that we have the ability, and the right, and the duty, and the manifest destiny to govern ourselves in a democratic and independent Britain.

Please join us. Please vote on June 23 to give me my P45.

For the latest Lincolnshire coverage in the run up to the referendum on June 23, follow the EU Referendum category on The Lincolnite.

Roger Helmer has represented East Midlands Constituents in the European Parliament since he was first elected in 1999. After representing the Conservative Party in three elections, Roger moved to UKIP in 2012. He has recently been selected as the Number One Candidate on UKIP’s East Midland Candidate list for next year’s European Elections.