IN response to “We should have listened to Winston Churchill over Europe”, Letters, June 14.

Churchill for all his faults saw the only way to stop future war was unification. The beginnings of the EU was Churchill’s idea. The current EU isn't without faults but the country if serious, it needs to be at the top table, we don’t run away like cowards because we can’t get our own way.

Out means our influence and Churchill's vision is lost, probably forever. The Brexiteers cannot produce one scrap of evidence we'll be better off or any trade agreements will be to our advantage, they can’t because they don’t exist.

There are lots of 'if' and 'maybe' but that is too great a gamble to maintain our standing in Europe and the rest of the world. If your thinking is based on immigration, an out vote will not halt it. It's immigration that has made us the fifth wealthiest economy.

The scaremongers claim we have open borders, well yes, that is true internally. If our borders were open, then why must I produce a valid passport for travel to and from mainland Europe? That isn’t an open border to me.

The inward investment the UK has benefited hugely from and seen steady growth because of, is due to our EU membership and with it, access to the largest consumer market on the planet.

Japanese car manufacturers and many others are here for the same reason and employ hundreds of thousands in manufacture and the associated supply chains because again, the UK gives them access to the single market without restriction. There is no guarantee Brexit can and will maintain the status quo. An out vote is a genuine threat to those jobs. Brexit has no guarantee and has yet to provide any evidence to the contrary.

Mr A Morley

Bolton