'˜Fantastic response' to leave Europe campaign in Aylesbury Vale

Chris Adams, who leads the Vale UKIP group and is a county and district councillor, said the referendum was ‘long over-due’.

“My mum and dad voted for the common market in 1975 and it has not turned out to be like that. We can have a brighter future for the country if we leave the EU. If I’m seeing you on the doorstep I’m going to be saying, ‘if you believe in Britain and want to see the UK prosper and grow in the global economy then this is the chance to express your opinion’.”

He said one of the ‘biggest issues up and down the country and not just in Aylesbury’ was over immigration and leaving the EU would enable the country to ‘control our own borders and set our own immigration policies’.

There would also be beneficial impacts for the fishing and farming industries.

He went on: “We can make our own laws in our own parliament, with no interference from Brussels or Strasbourg because our parliament will be sovereign. At the moment 75% of laws are made in Brussels. If people are then elected and you don’t like what they’re doing you can chuck them out. If you vote to remain in you might as well close parliament down.”

He said there was a lot of ‘scaremongering’ from the ‘Remain’ group about the need to protect British jobs.

“They will be absolutely fine,” said Mr Adams. “There are big name firms which have already said that leaving the EU would not stop them investing here. And you’ve got American and Asian firms saying they’re more likely to come to Britain if we are outside the EU.

“If you look on the roads every day you will see lots of foreign cars. Take Mercedes. Are they going to say sorry, we’re not going to sell any more cars in Great Britain? It’s ridiculous.”

He said the EU was a ‘shrinking part of the world economy’ and that Nato, rather than EU, had been key to ensuring stability and peace in the region.

Mr Adams has already started delivering leaflets and canvassing around Aylesbury Vale. He said he won’t be wearing his UKIP rosette while campaigning to reflect its cross-party support.

“I can honestly say there has been a fantastic reaction. We shall be running a campaign to convince the people of Aylesbury Vale to leave. I am also personally involved in the national campaign.”

He said of Boris Johnson’s decision to campaign to leave the EU: “It’s fantastic news. If you look at the cabinet and the people who have come out to leave it is brilliant. Mr Cameron and [Aylesbury MP] Mr Lidington want us to be ruled by Brussels. There has been no real change [since the negotiations]. It is worthless.”