A response to Geoff Farr

There have been Chatbox responses to Geoff Farr's 'To be or not to be' article on Saturday about the EU Referendum. This response, from Audlem resident Ben Clark, is somewhat longer so we are pleased to publish it in full as an article:

In reply to Geoff Farr's article on Saturday.

Are we supposed to be impressed by his selective view of our history, where the whole objective seems to be to insult as many nations as possible including the Scots and Welsh?

He begrudges our foreign aid budget. I am proud to belong to a country that wants to help countries in Africa and the Middle East with their humanitarian needs and economic development. In the long run this is the only way we will combat organisations like ISIS. We won't achieve it with bombs.

He seems to want to turn his back on the rest of the world and go it alone. In my view if we are to have any chance of tackling the major problems that confront us; climate change, mass migration and the power of global corporations; we can only do it in concert with other countries through organisations like the UN and, yes, the European Union.

The decision on whether we remain in the EU is absolutely critical, and will affect all or lives and our children's lives. Moreover there are many issues that impact the decision, some of them complex and difficult to understand.

I would welcome the opportunity to have that debate in these columns, but it should be conducted in a calm, rational and well informed way, and not just be used as an opportunity to parade our prejudices.

This article is from our news archive. As a result pictures or videos originally associated with it may have been removed and some of the content may no longer be accurate or relevant.