The world is our oyster when it comes to international trade

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Switzerland carries out a large amount of trade with India, whereas no EU state is in the top 10 (Getty)

On the list of the top ten nations which export to the economic giant, India, not one is a member of the EU.

Non-EU Switzerland, however, sits comfortably in fourth slot! The world is our oyster – the EU is our tapeworm.

Les Arnott
Sheffield

George Osborne has inadvertedly boosted the Leave campaign

Hasn’t George Osborne just counter-productively boosted the Leave cause by discussing house prices falling, encouraging a whole generation of thwarted would-be homebuyers to vote for Brexit?

Mike Brayshaw
Worthing

Use your democratic right to vote

I am not a politician or a member of any political party: I am just a normal tax paying citizen.

This is a plea from the heart to all the men and women of Great Britain: as we all know on the 23rd June 2016, we will have a vote on whether to remain in the E.U or leave.

I know many people who are sick and tired of hearing about it and reading about it, and because of this many of the population become disenchanted with the system and decide “they can’t be bothered or what’s the point”. Well the thing is with this vote is, it’s a once in a lifetime chance to vote on this matter: we have had to wait over 40 years for this opportunity, so please do not let the opportunity or your vote go to waste on this historic occasion.

This vote will not only affect you, your children, your grandchildren but even children that have not even been born yet, so please use your vote.

Please remember women died during the suffragette movement to secure the vote for women in this country and our men died during 2 world wars so that we could remain as a democracy for us to be able to cast our vote.

Remember this will probably be the only opportunity in our lifetime to vote on this, don’t be a non voter

Polls are suggesting the turn out will be less than 60 per cent, let us prove them wrong and show the world we do care about our future in this great country of ours.

Rob Wilkes
Thornton

The public must be kept in mind when carrying out private negotiations

Most of the discussion about TTIP has been about the risk it poses to the NHS. Of equal concern, but less often mentioned, is the threat posed by the Investor-State Dispute Settlement mechanism, whereby big businesses can sue governments if legislation passed in the public interest is deemed to threaten their profits. There have been several such challenges, such as the action by the tobacco company Philip Morris against the Australian government when it sought to bring in plain packaging for cigarettes. These cases are heard by special tribunals which sit in private rather than in a normal court.

We need to ensure that our negotiators, who also conduct their business in private, protect us against an agreement that might cause our government to weigh the expense and trouble of litigation against the benefit to the public when considering legislation.

Richard Warrell
Yealmpton

Russia is no threat

General Sir Richard Shirreff seems to think it is almost a foregone conclusion that Russia will attack one of the Baltic States next year. The quotations he produces from Vladimir Putin to support that argument are selective.

Putin did say that the loss of the old Soviet Union was something to be mourned by Russians. He also said words to the effect that no one in their right mind would try to restore it. He has said that the idea of Russia attacking a Nato country was madness. The portrayal of Russia as a terrible threat to the West is dishonest, irresponsible and dangerous.

If, God forbid, Russia did actually attack a Baltic State the Nato response would be led by America. There would be no question of a lack of military power or of reluctance to go to war.

Brendan O’Brien
London

Solving the NHS deficit

Annual NHS deficit = £2.4billion.

Annual cost of useless Trident weapons of mass destruction = £2.4billion

Solution = somewhat obvious.

Philip Gilligan
Littleborough