I MUST answer Mr Tomlinson’s points – Brexit ‘scare stories’ (Keighley News, September 7).

First, I did not accuse him of being personally xenophobic. I said an emphasis on narrow nationalism “leads us down the dangerous road to xenophobia”. There has been plenty of evidence of that in the UK since the Brexit vote, as there has been in the USA since the election of Donald Trump. Nationalism can be exploited to legitimise hate crime.

Second, Mr Tomlinson makes the point we did not vote to elect the EU commissioners. That is correct. There are 28 commissioners, one from each EU country. Each is nominated by his/her elected government. Members of the European Parliament, elected by us, can block such an appointment. The job of the EU commissioners is to draw up proposed legislation – but this is approved, or not, by the decision-making bodies of the European Parliament, elected by us, and the European Council. The council consists of ministers from all the elected governments. That seems pretty democratic to me.

Third, the EU has audited its books and identified areas of concern and, therefore, not signed off on the audit. However, there are many organisations and large companies that have had their books signed off and later been found to have committed some huge frauds. Audits are often carried out by firms that have stakes in the companies/organisations they audit. Audit is not a magic wand.

Fourth, we are not yet in the “abyss of economic ruin”. But the signs are not good. Everyone knows prices are going up. One result of this is personal debt has increased to the levels of the 2008 financial crash. Real wages have declined as inflation has risen. Many of the city banks that bring trillions into the economy are already relocating into Europe and setting up subsidiaries outside Britain so they can continue trading with the EU.

The Eurozone GDP is now rising faster than the UK’s. Growth is slowing in the UK and rising in the EU. Real employment is growing faster in continental Europe; here, underemployment is increasing – part-timers who want full-time jobs. Against all that hard evidence, there is only nostalgia, hope and expressions of optimism from those symbols of mediocrity: David Davis, Liam Fox and Boris Johnson.

Fifth, leaving the EU puts at risk our co-operation with them over crime and terrorism prevention, over scientific research. The EU has led the way far more than the UK in workers’ rights and environmental policies.

But there is something beyond all that. Since homo sapiens first came to Europe about 35,000 years ago, Europe has been riven by war. The last horrific European war ended only 72 years ago. Now, we have 28 independent nations voluntarily and peacefully co-operating – something that has never happened before in the whole of human history. For all its faults and inefficiencies, that seems to me a worthwhile project. I want to be part of it, not watching from the white cliffs of Dover sniffily waving my Union Flag.

JOHN ROBERTS Lower Scholes, Oakworth