Colin Pincombe, of Emb­ank­­ment Road, Kings­bridge, writes:

In the early days we all wanted more facts to decide on the European Union referendum.

Now we realise that many of the so-called facts are suspect from both sides. The big picture is that the EU – and its predecessors – has supported 70 years of peace in Europe.

The ‘outs’ say that Nato did this, but this is a misunderstanding of its role because Nato principally addresses external threats, not those from within. Will the EU implode if we leave? It’s a possibility.

The EU is one of the largest political and economic unions in the world, second only to the USA. Does the UK want to be part of this large club or fight issues on our own in a hostile world?

I wish to avoid suspect statistics, but should mention verified data for the south west: in the current five years the EU is investing locally about £1bn in research and development with universities and the like; £841m in structural development – a range of projects including ‘superfast’ broadband, for instance; and £42m in agriculture.

Some of this investment would undoubtedly be continued by an independent UK government, but much could be curtailed under the present austerity policy. A drop in investment would affect us all through lower employment and indirectly through reduced spending in our communities.

Yes, the EU is frustrating, inefficient and lacking in transparent democratic governance, but a lot of the bureaucracy is for our own benefit: health, safety and environmental rules, and co-operation in controlling international crime and terrorism are examples, all of which are issues which require collaboration with our neighbours.

My preference is to fight to improve the EU from within, rather than washing our hands of it and quitting in defeat.

There is no doubt that leaving will cause a severe economic downturn: we will definitely all be worse off in the short term. Nobody can be sure of what will happen in the longer term: how strong will be the EU or how successful the UK would be on its own; whether the UK itself would implode with the non-English countries applying to join the EU?

These risk are too big for me, so my vote will be to benefit from continued membership.