I AGREE with MP James Gray’s view (January 28) that in his EU renegotiations ‘Mr Cameron is asking for almost nothing’. I think the Prime Minister’s grand tour of European capitals is a sideshow.

Like Mr Gray I would like to see some fundamental reform of EU institutions, but this is not what is being talked about.

However, I part company with him over whether it is in Britain’s interest to remain in the EU. He clearly thinks it is not. I just as firmly think it is.

Our own British Parliament is in urgent need of reform and modernisation, perhaps even more than the EU’s ‘architecture’ – to use Mr Gray’s term.

First past the post does not deliver fair representation of voters’ wishes, we have an unelected and over-large second chamber, there is huge inequity in the money parties spend in election campaigns etc. But this debate is for another day.

As for British membership of the EU, I have read and listened to the arguments for leaving. In a nutshell, the main point made is that our trading is hampered by EU laws and Brussels’ bureaucracy and we would be financially better off out.

But Britain has been a member of the Common Market/EU for nearly 43 years, and we have the fifth largest economy in the world. Perhaps our EU membership hasn’t in fact held us back economically. And what if the Brexit campaigners have got it wrong, and voters opt for us to leave the EU only to see unemployment and food prices spiral, as many predict? There will be no going back if the British economy falters and fails.

There are of course other compelling arguments for remaining members of the EU, concerning our peace and security, the fight against terrorism, environmental protection etc.

However, the key message of those who want us to leave seems to be ‘better off out’. But economically we have been ‘better off in’ all my adult lifetime and I hope voters will remember this as they decide how to vote in the EU referendum.

JOHN BOALER, Woodland Park, Calne