Ben's Column

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What an altruistic bunch they are to advocate Britain�s withdrawal nevertheless!<br> <br> The day after the election, before the results were declared, I visited the Royal Cornwall Show. <br> <br> Excellent it was too, particularly the food and drink tent. It was packed with local farmers who have diversified their businesses and are successfully making and marketing high quality local food and drink. Virtually every stallholder I talked to had been able to set up their business thanks to European regional funding - Objective 1. <br> <br> Objective One is transforming Cornwall�s economy. <br> <br> Just before the elections our tourism businesses enjoyed a superb Whitsun. The glorious weather pulled visitors in but so did our beautiful beaches, cleaner now than ever. Thanks to EU environmental rules swimmers and surfers no longer have to compete with the local sewage.<br> <br> So, though, I wasn�t surprised by the European election result I was perplexed by it. Our region of all regions has benefited from Britain�s EU membership. <br> <br> There are many things the EU could do better and some it need not do at all. The protest votes across Europe are a warning to those who believe the peoples of Europe strongly desire further integration. They do not.<br> <br> But the elections were also a warning to the pragmatic majority who wish to remain in the EU but make it work better. They need to state their case and far more positively than they have up to now. <br> </font></td> </tr><tr> <td height="-7"><a href="#top"><img alt="Back to Top" src="../../graphics/180601_pages/back_top.gif" width="100" height="27" border="0"></a></td> </tr> </table> </body></td></tr></table>