Last week's letter from the Independence Party reminded me of the Monty Python's Life of Brian sketch where Reg asks the prosaic question: What have the Romans ever done for us?

Well, What has EU membership ever done for us? Well if you discount peace between member states for the last fifty years then there's legislation that protects our environment; landfill, wildlife, habitats, water-quality, air quality, reduction of climate change gases  etc.  There's workers' rights - ensuring paid holidays, health and safety protection at work, equal treatment for part-time workers and women and protection when business are sold.

 But don't listen to the Greens or the Left. In a recent CBI survey, eight out of 10 firms believed we have a better future within Europe than out of it.

Admittedly, not everything about the EU is perfect  – bureaucracy, inefficiency and accountability being  major problems; but as we go into the campaign for the euro elections next May, let's think about whether or not we are, like Reg – glossing over the major achievements over the last 40 years of the EU just because a minority of us just don't like Europe.

– Sid Phelps, Forest Green Party.