Letter: EU Vote Will Mean Short-term Pain But Long-term Gain

Published on: 24 Jun, 2016
Updated on: 24 Jun, 2016

From Gordon Bridger

Hon Alderman and former mayor of Guildford

The vote to leave was surprisingly strong in view of the overwhelming favourable pressures to Remain from experts and national and international institutions.

It was justified in my view as “the establishment” supporting Remain has benefited from massive immigration and has all too often claimed that opposition  is racist (in my experience Britain is one of the least racist countries I know),  or anti European.

Immigrants have made a huge contribution to Britain but the current scale  of immigration is historically unprecedented and unduly favours EU. Its uncontrolled nature has and is causing serious social and economic problems for less well off people.

This, and an EU with 28 members with very diverse interests, ill managed (at best) by a Brussels bureaucracy, facing huge economic and social problems, justifies the decision.

The current foreign exchange problems are likely to be short-lived as investors realise that existing trade relationships are not likely to alter as the vested  trade interests in the EU are not going to allow their Governments to embark on a trade war (is it likely that German car manufactures, or Airbus are going to allow themselves to be pawns in a trade war?).

However much the EU politicians are likely to resent our decision they are not going  to alter a mutually convenient trade relationship. They have a huge trade surplus with us. The current panic in international markets will subside when they realise this.

And while in Britain a lower value £ will mean higher overseas holiday costs and imports it will encourage exports and is paradoxically the only economic solution for a country which has been living beyond its  means for years.

There will be some short-term pain which needs to be offset against long-term gain. This loss has to be measured against the freedom we will gain.

The fairly evenly divided national vote, largely due to the Labour Party failing to support its traditional voters, means that we need  to respect the many valid reasons for each other’s vote.

Claiming that the need to control immigration is an irrational racist anti-European attitude does neither side credit, and we need to respect the views who believed we have a better role in Europe than out.

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