IT WAS very interesting last week, reading about the D-Day landings on June 6, 1944. The veterans who took part in the remembrance events were well into their 90s and listening to their stories was fascinating and also humbling.

We have had such a privileged life with relatively few wars and none encroaching on these shores. The mainland Europeans have reconciled their differences and constructed an alliance that has served us well for 45 years. I suppose many people just accepted that our membership of the bloc would continue and it definitely made people feel safe.

The EU referendum was the most shocking piece of hypocrisy and racism I have ever witnessed and the lies and xenophobia spouted was verging on criminal. I actually have many doubts about the EU and its neo-liberal policies but, being a pragmatist, I realise that we sometimes need to try to change things from within.

Read more: OPINION Councillor Gail Casey: Councils now too reliant on Holyrood cash

I campaigned for Remain three years ago and I was surprised at the lack of enthusiasm from the public prior to the vote. There was an assumption there would be no vote to leave. Then, suddenly, experts started lecturing us about the dangers of leaving Europe, but they had been nowhere to be seen before, certainly not in Clydebank. We are not leaving Europe, of course, just the EU, and we will need to find ways to deal with our neighbours whatever deal we get.

It is a dangerous thing to try to reverse the result of a referendum. It has previously happened in Ireland and also Greece where the population are being subjected to horrific austerity. I do, however, see disaster ahead if we allow the rich Etonian elite to drag us into a world of deregulation, cheap labour, loss of rights and rampant privatisation, much of it emanating from the US.

The European Commission tried to introduce special arrangements to allow big business and corporations unfettered access to our public services, including the NHS, so don’t kid yourself they are the good guys. The euro is also a trap, especially for small countries, and your independence will be transferred to the bureaucrats and fat cats in Brussels and Frankfurt.

Meanwhile, the Tories are holding a leadership vote while the leaving date gets ever nearer. It’s not a black or white issue so don’t be fooled by simplistic nonsense from any candidate.