WITH her views on the EU, ‘success’ and ‘benefits’ Catherine Bearder appears to be experiencing the onset of terminal credulity towards the EU.

Her claim, that each UK family is £3,300 pa ‘better’ off, is specious, as UK taxpayers, per capita sub the EU by at least as much — so this is no more than ‘even stevens’.

The 492,000 jobs in the south east are down to the UK’s more clement business tax regime.

How is it that the successes and benefits of association with the EU have not embraced the UK’s dairy farmers and deep-sea fishermen?

The EU has never sorted-out the odious and egregiously flawed CFP/CAP (Common Fisheries/ Agricultural Policies). Success and benefit — to whom?

For the past 18 years, those responsible for ‘signing-off’ the EU’s annual accounts, have declined to do so, as it is patently obvious, that so much money involved, is being siphoned-off in embezzlement scams.

Obviously a ‘benefit’ (for some).

The EU working-time directive is having a deleterious effect on NHS specialists, in that being restricted to working to what the bureaucrats want, rather than what the patients need, both patient-care, and the skill/experience levels of the doctors and surgeons are being degraded; and waiting lists are lengthening. Success or benefit?

Whilst everyone is having to trim their budget — the EU has recently demanded a 10 per cent increase in its budget.

No accountability at the ballotbox – all admin and political decisions are made by non-elected ‘Eurocrats’ (EU civil servants) whilst the ‘elected’ MEPs do not even have an effective monitoring role, let alone an advisory one.

The euro is said to be experiencing ‘problems’. The euro is THE problem – in economics, as in education, saying that one size fits all, actually fits no-one.

Meanwhile, in order to ensure that they are able to continue living ‘high on the hog’, the Franco- German axis on which the EU revolves, condemns the weaker members of the EU (Greece, Italy, Spain, Ireland) to chronic, deflationary austerity measures.

I think we’re ‘better off out’, Ms Bearder.

Paddy Keenan, Ward Close, Andover