J Basham (‘Who rules us?’) writes: “Nurses, doctors, scientists, engineers, whatever their race or creed, should be encouraged to come [to the UK].

“Those who come [to the UK] for an easy life on benefits or petty crime should stay on the other side of the Channel.” (Letters, February 28)

As someone who endured being a disabled jobseeker for many more years than I would have liked, I argue very differently. Successive UK governments have misspent domestic and EU funds that are nominally for alleviation of poverty and for internal investment. UK education and training budgets under-invest in home-grown talents including those of disabled people; UK prison populations reflect disadvantage; and G4S, Serco etc now exploit both prison inmates and jobseekers.

Pro-Bexit Iain Duncan Smith was a proponent of many of the ‘welfare reforms’ that the Chair of the UN Disability Committee said in August 2017 had caused “human catastrophe” for disabled people in the UK. Before advancing Brexit, IDS was part of a family trust whose own ‘welfare dependency’ siphoned £1m from the EU in agricultural subsidies.

Refugee crises result largely from global warming manifestations, resource conflicts, and the global armaments industry in which the UK is a leading player. There are many things wrong with the EU and the world that require changes from within: redistribution of wealth, regulating media ownership, reducing inequality; combating climate change, and curbing the armaments trade that exacerbates refugee crises. Thus I am an active Green Party member and People’s Vote supporter.

Alan Wheatley

(Hereford & South Herefordshire Green Party)