This week we hear from the owner of The Bloom Room florists in Station Road, Chingford, Robert French, about why we should vote to remain in the European Union.

Florists, butchers, car dealers – it doesn’t matter what you do, if you own a small business the European Union makes your life harder.

Everywhere you look there are regulations dictated to us from Brussels making it harder for small businesses to grow and hire more staff, whether it’s the size and shape of bananas or the endless form filling and paperwork. And that matters because SMEs employ more than 15 million people in our country – for every extra job opening that they put out on their shop window, that’s another person in Chingford or Chester with the security of a regular pay cheque.

But unless we leave the EU and make our own rules to suit our own economy, the EU will continue to cost British businesses to the tune of £600 million every week.

The EU isn’t just a problem financially – these laws and regulations are decided by people we don’t elect, don’t know and can’t get rid of. Even our own MPs can’t name them.

There is only so much our local MP or councillor can do to help our community – the rest is decided for us by the EU. That should mean something for anyone who cares about our democracy and our independence as a country.

And contrary to what we are told, it’s the EU that prevents us from being a global nation. There is a whole world out there, but as a member of the EU Britain isn’t allowed to negotiate its own free trade with countries that are outside the EU. That may not make a difference for the big businesses who do well out of the EU pricing other companies out of the market, but it means businesses like mine miss out on the opportunities that exist in India, China and other emerging markets.

And we aren’t even compensated for that – in fact, every day our Government sends millions of pounds just to remain in the EU, and only half of that money is actually spent here in Britain. By leaving the EU we could take back control of all of that money and spend on the things that we need in Chingford – like extra funding for the NHS, or more police on the beat.

I’m voting to leave because it’s the right thing to do – because it makes sense to control our own destiny and to live under own rules. It makes sense to want to co-operate and trade with other countries, but to be in charge of how we trade and who we trade with. If it makes sense for me, then it should make sense for people here in Chingford and across the country. This is by no means a selfish vote, it is a practical one. Our country needs fixing and to do that we must stop and work together on the major issues that we face as a community and as a country. So let’s do the right thing, and Vote Leave on Thursday 23rd June.