AM I the only one confused? Was the Brexit campaign run with the highest standards of integrity or not? Did we have a right to expect that it was?

Surely these are the questions that need to be answered first otherwise whoever gets to be Prime Minister is going to be building a house on sand. Just saying it’s water under the bridge won’t do — the foundations have to be repaired first.

Did the campaigns take a serious look at the fundamentals? Isn’t the difference between us (UK) and them (EU) that we have never suffered the sheer terror of defeat in war time? Yes my father-in-law had a bad time in Burma, my dad struggled to keep a steelworks going in the blackout. Many of our soldiers suffered for the rest of their lives, many lost their lives and the Blitz was terrible but somehow the total fear of war has not entered our psyche in the same way as in countries that suffered defeat.

What must it have been like living to the East of Berlin when undisciplined Russian soldiers came rampaging through doing what that type of solder has done for centuries? The EU was formed out of such terror on the basis that the more intermingled we are the less likely we are to go to war.

One aspect of intermingling is, by definition, free movement of labour.  Is this why it is so fundamental and why it will be incredibly difficult for the EU to compromise? They feel it in a way we don’t. Doesn’t this mean that the Brexit promise of free trade with migration control is just not deliverable? The above also explains why EU countries are so shocked. They are thinking ‘how could a country take such an irresponsible risk?’ I know this from talking to people directly at a business meeting in Dusseldorf last Monday. Therefore before we can talk about trade and immigration we need to work out where we stand on peace. 

Unlike most of the EU countries are you prepared to risk things going out of control and us having another war? If the answer is yes the next question is are you prepared for what will happen when our companies face import tariffs on goods entering the EU? Could it be the end of inward investment and the end of highly integrated European businesses such as our aerospace industry? What will happen to science funding and collaboration.

Is there too much complacency from those that have had decades of adult life benefiting from the sacrifice of others and the foresight of those that formed the EU? Thank goodness we have some sensible young people in our society who perhaps realise that in a world of huge power blocks you can no longer ‘go it alone’.

The US spent, in today’s money, something like 2.4-trillion dollars supporting the Second World War and lost around 407,000 lives. (source Wikipedia) plus of course the cost of supporting NATO ever since. Who says Obama didn’t have a right to express an opinion?

Finally, many of us know that when we take out a mortgage it’s wonderful to have our own house but our freedom to do what we want is reduced. The lender holds the deeds and has a degree of control over what we do. This country has not been paying its way for a long time and our debt is continually mounting. Is it not likely that our lenders have far more control over us behind the scenes than the EU has ever had?

We now know that exiting the EU will extend the time for us to come into surplus and start reducing our debt. So if we really want to take back control of the nation shouldn’t we stay in the EU; make the most of the favourable trade deals and available labour and pay off all our debts? Then we would be genuinely free and in control.

So were the Brexiters offering a mirage and, bearing in mind that they were educated at the best private schools and universities, did they know it?

Andy Houghton