Peter Hargreaves is the UK's most successful entrepreneur

It is almost certain we will get only one chance to leave the EU and it is vital that people vote on accurate, sensible information. I would emphasise that we are not voting for or against the EU in its current form. We have to take into consideration what it is likely to become.

The political aims of Brussels are not in line with what most people in Britain really want. If we vote Remain we will not be merely accepting the status quo. In the coming years and decades the EU is certain to affect detrimentally our lives to an ever greater extent.

Don’t believe me? It’s already happened. Since Ted Heath signed us up to what was then called the Common Market the EU has grown into something far different. The desirable ideals of a free-trade area have long been submerged.

Today Brussels is hell-bent on creating the United States of Europe and governing the continent through unelected commissioners. You can rest assured this long-term plan will be inflicted on us if we remain.

I have been appalled at how our Prime Minister and the rest of the Remain camp have elicited comment from people either in the pay of the Government or – quite possibly – promised rewards for “saying the right things”.

I would ask you to consider that the dire warnings about the consequences of Brexit are coming from the same economists who wrongly told us we had to go into the euro. They said it would be a disaster for both the City of London and the country as a whole if we didn’t embrace the single currency.

The reality is that the euro is the disaster and after the referendum the countries in the EU will be asked for billions to bail out southern Europe. Cynically the Greece problem – that has not got much better since people were rioting on the streets – has been put in abeyance until after our referendum.

Voters need to ask if the EU is where we should seek our future. My view, given that its economic position in the world is in freefall, is that it is most certainly not. Greece's economy has not got much better since people were rioting on the streets

Consider the following statistics: 30 years ago when there were just nine members they represented 30 per cent of the world economy. Today there are 28 countries in the EU but despite this huge increase in size it now represents only 17 per cent of the world economy.

There are much more dynamic parts of the world that trust the British

There are much more dynamic parts of the world that trust the British and are largely English speaking. It is there where we should be forging links. To take just one possible advantage of pursuing this strategy, other countries across the world are capable of producing food much more cheaply than the artificially high prices we pay. Yes!

Despite what the Government’s pet economists might claim your grocery bill could go down if we leave. So let’s look at how these economists have arrived at their doom-and-gloom predictions. At best they are guesses based on a single worst-case scenario: namely that after Brexit the EU will treat us as it does any other also-ran country in the world.

These self-styled impartial advisers are assuming trade barriers, better known as tariffs, would be put in place, which would make our goods more expensive in the EU. What they haven’t told us is that if we created reciprocal tariffs the area that would suffer the most would not be the UK but the EU.

It is simple mathematics: we buy more from the EU than the EU buys from us. Should tariff barriers be erected the chief executives of Mercedes, Volkswagen and BMW would be knocking on Angela Merkel’s door. They would inform her quite rightly that the UK is the German motor manufacturers’ third biggest market.

The French wine producers and fashion brands would be beating down François Hollande’s door with the same message. In conclusion the most influential countries in Europe do not want trade barriers and the projections of the supposed experts are invalid.

The most visible detriment that the EU imposes is the £350million a week that we pay to belong to this club. But our membership sadly comes with considerably more baggage. We suffer open borders that allow people to flood into the UK.

Some of these people are already ill when they arrive. Many don’t speak English. This puts enormous strains on our education system and the National Health Service, not forgetting the housing that they need to find.

Then there are the unelected commissioners who have a free hand at enacting regulation and legislation. But they are so remote from the peoples of the EU that they can get away with imposing rules that are onerous and completely inappropriate. Angela Merkel and François Hollande will need a trade deal with Britain if we vote to leave the EU

Not that this ever affects them of course. Their jobs are safe, they are paid ludicrous amounts of money, they have enormous expense accounts and they get the most generous pensions even after quite short periods in the job.

It is the ordinary people and the majority of businesses who suffer the consequences. And we can expect the rules and diktats to grow more numerous and more draconian.

But let’s look at the damage that too much regulation can do. France is a classic example. The labour laws there are so ridiculous that even if someone steals from their employer they can end up keeping their job.

You might think this sort of protection is wonderful for workers but the result is that employers do not recruit and people are left without jobs. That’s exactly what’s happened in France. Twenty-five per cent of the young people there are unemployed.

Here in the UK firms are already struggling against a tide of regulation. This does not affect large firms so badly because they can afford huge compliance departments. However it is a very different story for the little guy. Ted Heath tooks us into the Common Market 30 years ago when there were just nine members

I know many would-be entrepreneurs who have been reluctant to start in business. After their first visit to an accountant or solicitor – during which they are informed of all the regulation with which they must contend – they have second thoughts. It is hardly surprising that so many big companies are pro-EU when it is killing off their competitors.

However small businesses are the lifeblood of any economy. Taken as a whole large businesses tend to contract and employ fewer people. Small businesses – lightly regulated, correctly motivated and given the freedom to expand – employ more and more people and have a greater effect on the unemployment figures.

The bosses of many of these inefficient big companies are nothing more than bureaucrats themselves. Most of them do not have an entrepreneurial bone in their body. All they want is an easy life and staying in the EU will give them that.

They may even come away with an honour or award for having been so helpful to the political establishment. But what they will have on their conscience is that they are giving away our democracy.

When you seek out true entrepreneurs, real businessmen and the few politicians that really care about this country you will find them universally in favour of leaving. Many people are struggling to make up their mind but the only way I can help is to beseech you to vote the same way as the people that you admire.

Take note of the ones that really care about this country rather than those obsessing about their own place in history or the future of their political careers. Voting to leave the EU might be the best thing that you have ever done in your life and if you do feel that way please make sure you turn up on Thursday. 1 of 34

How Peter Hargreaves started a business in his bedroom and went on to become a billionaire

IN 1981 from his spare bedroom in Bristol Peter Hargreaves, alongside business partner Stephen Lansdown, started his own company. Hargreaves Lansdown went on to become one of the largest financial services firms in the world, making both of its founders billionaires in the process.

Hargreaves was born in Lancashire in 1946. His father ran a small bakery and displayed a marked aversion to indebtedness.

He borrowed money only once in his life: £400 from his brother-in-law which he paid back inside six months.This was a trait he passed on to his son who is the only person ever to found a FTSE100 company without ever borrowing a penny.

After leaving school Peter trained as an accountant. While it was not for him it did provide a good grounding in business which would prove invaluable.

Hargreaves Lansdown floated on the stock market in 2007. In 2010 Peter stood down as chief executive but remained as an executive director until 2015.

Today the company is trusted with £58.8billion by 783,000 customers and Peter himself is estimated to be worth more than £2billion. He has been dedicated to the Eurosceptic cause. In March this year, following the Government’s decision to spend £9million on a pro-EU leaflet, he wrote a letter to 15million households outlining the economic case for Brexit. True cost of those big pies, says ANNE DIAMOND True hero who should be honoured for his deeds – EXPRESS COMMENT The police must be given the resources they need – EXPRESS COMMENT The EU is to blame for the recent slump in car sales
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