In answer to the points raised by Robert Theobald (Be accountable– August 3), I’ll leave it to your readers to decide which version of the ‘truth’ they can believe. By the way, does he know that in the decade leading up to us joining the EU in 1973, England was generally known (economically), as ‘the sick man of Europe’?

I have paraphrased what three university researchers, published last year in the FT: “…since joining the EU, per capita GDP of the UK economy grew by 103 per cent, exceeding the 97 per cent growth of the US.

Within the EU, the UK edged out Germany (99 per cent) and clobbered France (74 per cent)….the UK’s growth has exceeded the US while tracking it, even since the crisis of 2008.

This makes it hard to argue that the EU is dragging the UK down…. the benefits of growth in Britain have been divided much more fairly than in the US…..since 1974, median income in the UK grew by 79 per cent, in contrast to 16 per cent for the US.

Thus, Britain has had the best of both worlds while a member of the EU – not just strong growth, but more equal growth…. some Brexiteers have said that we can “just trade with Australia and Canada”. These two countries only account for a meagre 2.9 per cent of British exports.”

“Competition forced these guys to improve or exit,” said Professor Nick Bloom of Stanford University. “The single European market increased competition and forced British firms to increase their level of innovation.”

Also from the Financial Times, “… the net cost of membership...about £7bn, less than half a per cent of national income about £260 a year for each British family”. Not £1,000 as he suggests.

Raoul Ruparel, the think-tank’s co-director, says the benefits of the regulations are “much higher” than the costs and “clearly not all….would disappear after Brexit”. Robert raises the subject of ‘monetary union’ and its effect on four other less industrially-developed EU countries overlooking the fact that we currently enjoy both the benefits of membership and retaining our own currency. We ‘have our cake and eat it’ and are not subject to the inequalities caused by sharing a single currency.

Mike Joslin

Dorchester