KEITH WILLIAMS of Weeke Hill, Dartmouth, writes:

This is a first for me but I am joining the European Union referendum debate because I am appalled by the general standard of debate that we have been subjected to from the biased press and from the Westminster bubble.

I feel passionate about my country but even more passionate about the world in which our grandchildren are going to grow up.

Most of the words that emanate from our political leaders come from people who are professional politicians who have never lived in the real world and many of whom are from privileged backgrounds and have no real empathy with the needs of ordinary people.

I speak as a grandfather and experienced businessman. I am currently the executive chairman of a high technology group, I have been the international president of a large Wall Street-quoted global business, and have been the director of many companies, so hopefully people would be kind enough to say that ‘I have been around the block’ and am well qualified to present a balanced business perspective.

Furthermore, I come from a humble background, so nobody could ever accuse me of representing the privileged elite.

The central themes in the debate seem to be the economy and net migration, so let me start here.

Of course, there are fears in relation to the economy post- Brexit and I share them but the remain case is largely based on fearmongering and no fact.

The trade deficit between the UK and the rest of the EU was minus £23.9bn in the last three months, so is running at circa £96bn per annum.

I keep asking myself why the balance of the EU members would put trade barriers and tariffs on the import of British goods when they have everything to lose if we do likewise to imports from the EU.

Imagine the lobby in Germany from the all-powerful automotive industry if the EU were to put restrictive tariffs on imports from the UK and we in turn did the same to German products coming into the UK.

All the politicians quote is the opinion of the so-called economic experts but their track record at predicting economic turbulence is very poor.

The real point is that none of us really know what would happen to the economy post- Brexit.

I can well imagine that the markets and the pound will take a short-term hit if we exit because the economic cycle is so dependent on confidence and the scaremongering has created doubt, but to me this is a vote for the next 50 years and not the short term.

The cost of membership of the EU after taking into consideration the rebates that we have secured is circa £10bn per annum and how much of this could we put back into the stretched NHS if we are to exit?

And into immigration. Controlled immigration is very good especially to an ageing population like the UK but an Australian-type points system makes total sense to me.

Dartmouth is a classic example of the good of migration, as we have so many people working in out hotels and shops that are a credit to themselves, their families and the countries from which they come.

However, the NHS is creaking, our schools are full, we have nowhere near enough affordable housing and our road infrastructure needs a major overhaul. I simply cannot imagine how we would cope with the predicted population increase from 65 million to 85 million.

If we were to maintain an open-door policy, few would argue that we need to invest heavily in the NHS, schools, roads, housing etc but with a debt today of £1.6 trillion (that is 1.6 million million) we simply cannot afford the interest payments on ever-increasing loans.

To me, Britain is ‘nearly full’ and we cannot leave the doors open to uncontrolled immigration. Net migration was steady at circa 40,000 per year for some 50 years until we opened the doors and now it is close to 400,000. I will always want the UK to demonstrate a strong moral fibre and will always support restricted immigration from refugees seeking shelter from the atrocities of the world such as in Syria.

What we need is to take control of decision making which is what the Brexit camp is saying and then have a government capable and strong enough to make the right decisions whatever they might be.

My next fear if we stay in is in relation to our loss of decision making power, loss of sovereignty and loss of democracy. Few would argue that so many more things will be harmonised over time if we stay in the EU including tax, welfare and military spending. Fast wind 20 years and my view is that we will look like a part of the United States of Europe if we stay in and this in my opinion will be dominated by the powerhouse which is Germany.

I believe that Brussels represents an undemocratically elected organisation not fit for purpose. No European country has ever voted for the EU political institution.

Furthermore, UK MEPS have a nine per cent only vote in Brussels towards decision making and David Cameron has a 13 per cent vote in the Council of Ministers. Both will reduce when the three new member states join. The EU in my opinion does not represent member states – it represents the EU. The top 50 of the EUs biggest companies are in the “club” that sit down to decide what is good for us (or is it them?) and lobby the EU council. This is fundamentally wrong in my opinion.

The divide between the rich and the poor gets ever greater and I find this to me morally repugnant and indefensible. If we took more control of decision making back from the EU, it is right to remove VAT for instance on fuel as it is taxing the poor, and it is right to allow wages to rise faster as the influx of migrants taking the low paid jobs reduces.

I genuinely would like to see a government fighting for the underprivileged whose standard of living has certainly dropped over the recent past.

You may well ask who would pay for an escalation of wages for the poor, but the right answer in my opinion is the rich. Of course, the EU has been good in defending workers’ rights and this we should continue to do whether in or out of the EU.

Lastly, I fear that my grandchildren will be picking up their part share of faltering economy bailouts for the rest of their lives. The cost of the next Greek bailout if needed will be a staggering 100bn euros and this is for one of the minnows of Europe. And what of Ireland, Portugal, Spain, France and Italy, whose banking system is crumbling.

If we say in the EU, I question whether our membership of the IMF and European Bank in its current form makes sense if ongoing bailouts are to represent the future.

I do not want to be irresponsible and see sovereign states collapse with no sense of responsibility but if they did not have the safety net that the EU provides, maybe they would be forced to address more of their core problems.

I rarely enter political debates because emotions over take rationale thinking so often.

However, this is one that I feel passionate about for the sake of our grandchildren.

I do not want them to grow up as part of the United States of Europe, where so many of the decision-making powers have been removed from this great country.

I passionately believe in democracy and sovereignty.

I do not want them to grow up in a totally overcrowded Britain where the national debt precludes us from building enough hospitals, schools, houses and road infrastructure to accommodate a population of 85 million.

In summary, I want our grandchildren to grow up in the Great Britain that I love.