STUART Anderson’s letter (Guardian, May 23) bemoans the likely loss, after Brexit, of funding for many local projects which are supported by the EU.

Does he realise that it is not EU funds which support them, but our own money?

A small portion of the paltry £4-5 billion which the EU deign to return to us after deducting almost £9 billion from our gross annual payment of £18.6 billion (a net £13 billion after deducting Maggie Thatcher’s negotiated rebate) which we paid the EU to fund their bloated bureaucracy and other pet projects around the rest of Europe.

Once we have left the EU, I’m sure our own government (national and local) is better placed to determine the relative merits of UK requests for funding, to say nothing of the needs of the NHS and our road system, etc.

There’s a lot more we can do with that extra £9 billion.

Tony Booth Cheshire