Business will drive growth

First, let me say I agree wholeheartedly with Mr Parton having myself been a very enthusiastic leave voter.

There have been a number of nay sayers on the letters page convinced that Britain will suffer economic meltdown post Brexit, each from very different perspectives.

Alan Harrison argues for remain because he does not want the right to control the political agenda whereas Messrs Watts and Cliff appear convinced our economic well being is inextricably linked to the EU.

Mr Parton, however, introduces what for me is the nub of this debate.

In his final paragraph on October 14 he points out that it is talent and industry that creates success. The implication of this argument is that rather than being dependent upon the EU we are in fact constrained and held back by it.

I agree with him 100 per cent. Success is forged by enterprise and industry and trade to suggest we are incapable of displaying these traits is tantamount to throwing in the towel and giving up.

There is abroad a feeling the UK is effectively a second rate nation unable to compete in a global future. Yet we have a number of the world’s highest ranked universities (The Eurozone has not one) and people from all over the globe are still keen to send their children here to learn.

We have some of the finest most innovative industrialists such as James Dyson and we are leading the field in the development of robotics and biotechnologies. The problem at home is, in my view. We have become hostile to wealth and innovation.

Regulation is used to prevent excesses or so we are told and yet it distorts and disrupts business start up and flourishing.

The EU is famous for coughing out more and more business red tape, which is fine and dandy for big companies but what of smaller or medium-sized concerns struggling to stay afloat?

Prosperity is heavily dependent upon these men and women people with real skills and industry motivated to set up and run businesses to accept risks and seek profits.

My own skill set is rather paltry by comparison. I am a simple bean counter, an economist who is useful only to advise.

I am neither entrepreneur nor man of vision. The point is Mr Parton makes the correct linkage in his letter.

The success of this country post Brexit is down to us to our men and women.

Can we win in global markets do we have the people the inclinations and the culture?

Mr Parton clearly believes we do and I agree with him.

It will require a change in our collective attitude towards wealth and its creation. A move away from the flawed notion that government can provide wealth for us by spending our money on our behalf is essential. It will never succeed. It is business that does this, plain and simple.

Government displays good intentions but often does more harm than good. A provocative example would be the welfare benefit system. When set up was it ever meant to be as it is today?

A system that allows for economic inactivity in perpetuity and supports child rearing outside of settled family arrangements paid for by the taxpayer? Think about it was it?

When this is raised the argument is always obscured by the left changing the subject usually introducing the totally unrelated issue of tax avoidance.

The fact is we have tacitly accepted that government spends our money better than we do ourselves and by God can it spend! A sovereign debt over £1.7 trillion and a yearly deficit of near on £50 Billions!! and yet this is called austerity it would be wonderful to behold a government considered to be spending and borrowing too much if this is too little!! What is needed is control over our own economic and trading policy. The ability to set our own tax and regulation such that we recognise and do not stifle those with enterprise who want to have a go!! A healthy nation recognises enterprise and pursues social mobility not through the state pulling levers but by setting its people free to pursue their own dreams. There will be pain at inception but a country which has the lowest productivity of labour in the G7 is sadly in need of the cold shower of economic reality. Once through this we have the people we have the skills we have the universities and research departments to flourish. Let’s get on with and go global to create the economy that can pay for the NHS rather than make do!! as it is we cannot hope to fund it nor other public services at the levels people seem to want. We have to grow the cake and to do that we have to be more enterprising and embrace

Brexit it is our opportunity to stick two fingers up to Mrs Juncker and his federalisation project, which will destroy European national identities and make us dependent more and more on Brussels. No thanks.

Martin Bristow

Wolverhampton