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Brexit and the EU referendum: Why should we leave the EU?

The future of every family and business in the West Midlands and across Britain is at stake in the European referendum on June 23.

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We have a choice to vote to remain in an organisation that is wedded to the past, will hold our country back, and costs us £350 million a week. Or vote to leave the EU, to take back control of our country and secure a safe and prosperous future, writes Employment Minister Priti Patel.

For me, this is a deeply personal issue. I can remember how Britain's membership of the Exchange Rate Mechanism in 1992 nearly wrecked everything my parents had worked so hard for after they like so many of their generation came to Britain to escape Idi Amin's Uganda.

  • MORE: Wolverhampton MP Pat McFadden on why we should stay in the EU

  • MORE: Dudley MP Mike Wood on why we should leave the EU

Priti Patel's parents came to the UK to flee Idi Amin's reign

The string of shops and small businesses my family worked hard to set up were left at the mercy of the Exchange rate mechanism which drove UK interest rates up from 10 per cent to 12 per cent and we were then faced with a possible rise to 15 per cent. We were not even sure we would keep the roof over our heads. At the same time, many families were struggling to make mortgage payments and other businesses were under threat because of the demands of Europe.

With Britain's withdrawal from the ERM, we were reprieved and the nation breathed a sigh of relief. Black Wednesday was rebranded White Wednesday as this country enjoyed the longest period of economic growth in its history as a result of our decision to free ourselves from the ERM's restrictions.

We now have the opportunity for an even greater liberation, removing the shackles of Brussels for good and standing tall once again as a free, independent and sovereign nation. The pessimists who are warning that millions of jobs will be at risk if we Vote Leave, like the Confederation of British Industry, are the same people who got it wrong over the ERM; they were even more wrong when they told us we were doomed if we stayed out of the Euro. They are still wrong today.

The EU is wrecking livelihoods

Leaving the EU will give us the chance to build on what this government has done towards restoring our economic security and creating record employment. When we look to the high unemployment in the Eurozone and the EU's sluggish growth, we have to ask ourselves if we want to be bound and tied into a political project that is wrecking livelihoods in this way and putting our national interests at risk. By voting to leave the EU, we will be free to pursue our own policies, make our own laws and control our borders to address the challenges our country faces.

Leaving the EU will mean that we can untangle the red tape and remove the massive regulatory burdens that hold business back. Around half of businesses surveyed highlight reducing Brussels-made red tape as a top priority but while we remain in the EU their calls for less regulation and lower costs will always be ignored.

Priti Patel says 'unelected bureaucrats' in Brussels shouldn't make decisions with our money

When the costs of this bureaucracy total more than £33 billion it is easy to see why we would be better off voting to leave. Decisions passed by unaccountable and unelected bureaucrats in Brussels which we have no real influence over hits our economy and the livelihoods of hardworking families and businesses hard. This puts jobs, growth and our economic security at risk.

By repatriating our law-making back to our democratically elected Parliament, we can make better laws which you can influence and hold your politicians to account over. We can introduce sensible reforms to free our businesses, especially SMEs who are hit hardest by EU red tape, to unlock the potential of our great entrepreneurs and wealth-creators.

Boosting manufacturers

Once we leave, the West Midlands will be one of the regions that benefits most. It is the bedrock of British industry, once famous as the workshop of the world. Its future is bright if we are no longer held back by the Brussels job-destruction machine.

As we can see vividly today, as long as we remain in the EU we are powerless to put in place a strategy to help the steel industry and the rest of our manufacturers. State aid rules mean we are unable to support businesses and communities in crisis and we have no power to decide our own tariff levels to protect high-quality industries against unfair foreign competition.

Our future prosperity also depends on trading freely with the rest of the world, not the stagnating continent we are chained to. Our exports to Europe are in decline, while we sell more to the rest of the world. The continent's share of the world economy is less than half what it was when we joined in 1973.

But there is little we can do to open new markets because the EU has grabbed our seat at the World Trade Organisation. Talks proceed at a snail's pace because too many people in Brussels are driven by an outdated protectionist mindset.

Priti Patel with David Cameron in Delhi, India

The EU's efforts to open trade with India, which is such an important country for many families in the West Midlands, started in 2007 and stalled six years later. Last month, Brussels and Delhi finally agreed just to re-start talks about talks.

Business is desperate to trade with new markets, develop international links and sell goods and services across the word. But while we remain a member of the EU, we will never be free to make the right decisions to boost international trade.

Bring back control of our money

Leaving the EU will also mean that we can finally take back our money and spend it on our own priorities. Every week the EU pillages £350 million the taxes paid by families and businesses.

Much of which ends up being spend in far-flung part of Europe or squandered on the EU's wasteful vanity projects. It is outrageous that we have such little say on how our money is spent.

Just imagine the new hospitals and school places that this money could fund, or the new roads and rail services it could pay for.

With our public services under pressure, this money will go a long way to support the health and prosperity of this country.

The only way we can take back control over our money and spend it on our priorities is to vote to leave the EU.

Voting to leave the EU will also give us back control over our borders and immigration policy. While we remain in the EU our country is open to 500 million EU nationals who have unrestricted access to our country. With hundreds of thousands coming to the UK each year, not only are our services like the NHS and our housing stock facing new pressures, it has meant that new restrictions on people from outside the EU have been put in place.

Many families in the West Midlands with relatives from countries outside the EU will know how unfair this system is. Britain should be able to attract the brightest and the best from across the world and we can only put in place the fair and balanced immigration system we need by leaving the EU.

Brussels is on the way to building a European super-state geared to the interests of the Eurozone. We have never wanted to be part of this project but are being hit hard every day by its consequences. We can do nothing to stop it and it is time we stopped pretending we can change its direction.

That is why staying in would be such a gamble with our future prosperity.

By leaving the EU we can make the most of the extraordinary enterprise and talent this country has to offer. As my family found out, Britain is a land of opportunity. We can take the right decisions to secure the future for all our families once we are free.

Voting Leave is the safe option.

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