THE country voted to break Britain’s 40-year association with what we originally thought was a trading bloc but which morphed into an embryonic superstate.

The Commons voted by a majority of almost 400 to trigger the two-year process leading to the UK’s departure.

We currently pay approximately 13.5 billion euros a year to this overbearing, bloated outfit. Germany pays 17.1 billion, and the French(with a larger population) 6.1 billion.

This whole stance by the EU is based on greed and the realisation among the French that they will have to pay more to keep this outfit on the road.

Brexit should provide an economic revolution by bringing free trade and world competition, home grown pragmatic regulation and an end to subsidised, and unskilled EU immigration.When MPs voted to trigger Article 50, they agreed we would leave Europe at the end of the negotiating period. Britain could gain a £65billion windfall from Brexit if the Chancellor seizes its “economic opportunities”.

Long term gains, including a fall in prices after abandoning EU tariffs on goods from outside of Europe, less red tape, improved export performance, and an end to the annual EU subscription of £10billion.

The British want to respect the referendum result, and leave the EU entirely.

The government does not seek a halfway-house options that would mean accepting the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice in Britain, the supremacy of European law, the continuation of free movement and the vast annual payment to Brussels. Nor does it propose anything that would prevent Britain from negotiating new trade deals beyond Europe.

A top BMW executive says its UK operations would remain crucial after we leave the EU.

Building engines and cars in Britain makes sense, because it sells 250,000 cars here, the UK remaining one of its most lucrative markets.

The UK is the world’s biggest exporter of financial services - and won’t change any time soon.

EU companies and governments need the City’s deep and global markets to raise cash. Financial services are likely to thrive after Brexit, as we focus more on markets beyond Europe.

Securing a clean Brexit is critical. If you are trying to boost productivity, the last thing you need is submission to the full panoply of EU regulations and trade protectionism.

Dave Christian, Southampton