FIRSTLY, I believe Britain should stay in the EU, but there needs to be reform.

EWhile exports to EU countries help to support 4.2m UK jobs and are worth £211bn to the economy, according to new research which underlines the strength of Britain’s trade links. Of the 4.2m UK jobs linked to EU trade, an estimated 3.1m were directly supported by exports and a further 1.1m supported indirectly, for instance through spending income earned from exporting. Being in Europe is like a marriage: it has to be all or nothing and you can’t cherry-pick what you like or dislike about the person. You compromise and this has kept peace in Europe.

In the nine years prior to 2004, an average of 67,000 EU citizens came to the UK every year and 51,000 left per year. Since 2004, 170,000 have migrated to the UK per year and 83,000 have left per year on average.

But migration from outside the EU still makes up the largest portion of net migration.

The Migration Observatory at Oxford University has estimated that at least one million UK-born people were living in other EU countries in 2011 by analysing census data from all the other EU countries apart from Belgium and the Netherlands. While the Mediterranean countries are the preferred retirement destination for most UK people – and who can blame them?

Andrew Nutt Heolddu Road Bargoed