I feel compelled to respond to PJ House, when he says it is NATO and not the European Union that has helped keep the peace in Europe for the past 50 years.

He is wrong. NATO have done a terrific job in very difficult circumstances in many parts of the world, usually after conflicts have already broken out.

However, it is the European Union that should rightly be credited with helping keep the nations of Europe talking to one another, settling their differences through negotiation and compromise, rather than threats and hostilities.

A question for all those who doubt the value of the EU – is it less likely, or more likely, we would have wars in Europe without the EU? I think the answer is obvious. This is a factor that should be carefully weighed up in any future debate or referendum on the question of our membership of the EU,

Councillor David Harrison, New Forest Liberal Democrats.