Letter: Business not institutions

The report concerning loss of trade after leaving the EU as the university report is only what I have come to expect from those cosseted institutions. Typically, the report fails to take into consideration the future benefits of global trading. Certainly we must expect some disruption in the early stages but no-one can predict the overall effects.

I am not undervaluing the important work of universities (my sister-in-law is an emeritus professor) but there can be no denying the cocoon that the halls of academia are enveloped in.

Whilst universities are fundamentally necessary, the only creator of wealth, employment and growth is business, whether services or manufacturing, and it is the spirit of enterprise that has always been a cornerstone of this great country.

I travelled extensively throughout Europe when there was border control and never had a problem – and I believe in maintaining a close relationship with Europe, not necessarily the cartel that is the European Union.

I have been in business for more than 30 years and at one stage was invited to join a cartel. This, I was assured would mean obtaining generous discounts for my company from the suppliers within their organisation. In return we would pay an annual ‘members’ fee and would also contribute a fixed amount into their advertising budget. After much consideration I felt we could negotiate our own discounts with local suppliers and consequently the more business we gave them, the bigger discounts we got.

I feel Britain can still do business with the countries of Europe on mutually attractive terms, along with the rest of the world.

Raymond David

Mount Pleasant

Scalby