Boris Johnson on Brexit: From Wolverhampton to Walsall, why you should vote Leave in the EU referendum

My news editor would send me to search for unexploded wartime bombs in people's gardens and quiz locals who thought they had spotted UFOs in the skies over the Black Country.

I loved my time in Wolverhampton and a lot has changed since then.

Those of you over the age of 58 will remember being asked to join a 'common market'. Yet the organisation we find ourselves in today is not the one we willingly joined in 1975: it has a common currency, a Parliament, an anthem and a flag.

The case for leaving the European Union could not be more compelling than it is today.

This referendum is a truly once-in-a-lifetime chance for the people of the West Midlands to take back control of their country – control of our borders, our public services, our money, our laws and our democracy.

Whether you're in Wolverhampton or Walsall, leaving the EU will make it easier for people in this country to live a better life.

Brexit will boost jobs

Take jobs. Over 15 million people in Britain are employed by a small or medium-sized business – people like Peter Shirley, the Managing Director of Midland Chilled Foods or Chris Kelly of Keltruck. It's their ability to grow and take on more staff that is essential for the long term success of our economy.

But as a member of the EU these businesses are prevented from doing just that. Red tape and regulation costs small businesses more than £600 million every week, despite the fact that just six per cent of all businesses actually export to the EU.

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This kind of arrangement is alright for the big businesses who can cope with those extra costs, but for SMEs it's a cost that many are increasingly unable to afford. And that matters for people here in the West Midlands – for every extra job opening that a business puts out on their shop window, that's another person in this country with the security of a regular pay cheque.

Leave does not mean Armageddon

Don't listen to the doom-sayers and the Armageddon predictors. There is absolutely no reason why Britain would not be successful by leaving the EU. For one thing Britain is a great country. Our economy is the fifth largest in the world and last year we grew faster than most other major advanced economies. Our education system is world class, with three of the world's top 10 Universities here in Britain.

And despite the EU, we still have tremendous influence on the world stage and the capacity to do great things – we have the fifth-largest defence budget in the world, we have a permanent seat on the UN Security Council and we are currently the second biggest giver of humanitarian aid to war-torn Syria.

But there is another reason why we would succeed – Europe is failing. Every month we read about yet another crisis in the Eurozone, with countries such as Greece facing the most appalling social and economic circumstances. Over half of all young Greeks are currently out of work. Europe, as a proportion of the world's GDP has declined from more than 30 per cent in 1980 to nearly 20 per cent today. If we vote to remain, how long will it be before the unelected Presidents of the EU come knocking on our door for more money to bail out yet another disaster within the Eurozone?

We must control our border

And it's not just the economic storms that Britain is unable to prepare for. The EU is the only trading bloc in the world where countries must accept free movement in order to trade freely and co-operate with one another.

Not only does that mean that we are prevented from negotiating our own free trade deals with non-EU countries, but it has led to a level of immigration that we are unable to control.

As a member of the EU the fact that we cannot control the number of people who can come to this country means that it is impossible for us to plan for the public services that we all rely on. Whether it's in our hospitals, schools or on the housing ladder, having an open border with almost 500 million people will clearly make that problem worse and not better.

Uncontrolled immigration is an issue that matters to millions of people in this country. We need to control our own border in a way that is fair to everyone who wants to live and work in this country. Currently because of our arrangement with the EU, we are forced to discriminate against people from non-EU countries in an attempt to control immigration – that means our economy misses out on skilled people, many of whom share our values, culture and history.

EU cost is crucial

But it is the cost of being a member that is the most perverse. Time and time again we are told that people like farmers and scientists rely on 'EU funding'. Excuse me? This is simply part of the money that we hand over to the EU – a staggering sum of £350 million a week – half of which we never see again, much of the rest spent by EU bureaucrats who decide our priorities for us and over whom we have no control.

We can no longer claim to choose those who govern us. Since joining for economic reasons 40 years ago, we have gradually handed over the power to govern ourselves, control our own borders and make our own way in the wider world. Thursday 23rd June is the one day that we can take back control.

Voting to leave the EU is not some leap into the unknown. It is the chance to be like any other nation – one that is successful and dynamic, trading and co-operating with others but which is beholden only to itself and its own citizens.

The people of Wolverhampton have more chance of seeing a UFO land in their street than seeing meaningful reform of the EU. That is why voting to Leave is the right thing to do on 23rd June.

Brussels has had its chance – now it's your turn.