Medway Matters

Paul Chaplin reports..........

Treasurer Medway Liberal Democrats:

This week UKIP MEP candidate, Janice Atkinson, admitted leaving the EU would be a process which could span several years, but what she can't answer is what the cost of this transitional period will be to Britain's economy and jobs.

Mrs Atkinson said Britain had so many trade agreements bound up with the EU that the country couldn't just 'walk away'. A transitional process is a frightening prospect for the UK, threatening jobs and businesses.

Flirting with exit is already having an impact: Vince Cable recently warned that businesses looking to invest in the UK were showing caution - surely an extensive period of transition will only fuel this doubt. Already Siemens and Airbus are warning they may be forced to take their business elsewhere, how many would be forced to join that list?

Astonishingly, Mrs Atkinson admitted that Ukip are only just discussing how this period would be managed, promising the party would have 'something to announce on that' soon.

She also said Ukip MEPs are not elected to vote in the European Parliament, which begs the question what their salary is for. We need British MEPs fighting for our interests round the table.

Yanking the UK out of the EU would be a disaster, wrecking the recovery and putting jobs and businesses at risk. Demanding an EU exit is one thing but doing so without a plan of action is plain recklessness.