Regarding the letter by Mr Stanley Parr, it appears that he does not quite understand the benefits gained by Britain from being a member of the European Union.

The European Union is our biggest trading partner and if we left the EU then it would mean that Britain would be subject to tariffs and even quotas and would greatly affect us economically. Judging by what Mr Parr wrote in his letter it appears that he also does not know that the United States and Canada are both in the North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA), and that Poland is one of the EU candidate countries whilst Australia and New Zealand are part of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation as also are the United States and Canada.

Mr Parr also writes that "currently we are all distracted by the war in Iraq", and so I shall accept this as an excuse for his naivety. Britain is not tied to the belt of the European Union and so maybe in the future he should make more of an effort to find out about the regional organisations different countries are in, and the benefits which they bring them rather than just making assumptions which is what he appears to be doing at the moment.

Bradley Thomas, Harvington, Evesham.