WE are now just three weeks away from the EU referendum and there are still many of you who are undecided about how or even why to vote.

There is much hyperbole on the consequences of ‘in’ or ‘out’ but let’s stick to the facts for a moment and try and dispel some of those myths that people on the doorsteps in Blaenau Gwent are concerned about.

Leaving won't affect jobs – yes, it will. 100,000 Welsh jobs are linked to EU funding and nine out of 10 economists are adamant that leaving the EU will hurt our economy.

Leaving the EU will stop immigrants – no, it won’t as any country accessing the Single Market must allow free movement of EU citizens whether in the EU or not.

Immigrants come here to feed off our benefits system and drain our public services – not according to a report from the London School of Economics, EU immigrants are less likely to claim benefit than British born citizens, they contribute more in taxes than they use public services like hospitals and schools and they are not a drain on the economy, in fact they use local shops and services, stimulating demand and creating job opportunities.

Immigrants don’t contribute to our communities – The BMA says 26 per cent of NHS doctors are foreign born and without them the NHS would struggle to provide care.

Workers’ rights won’t be affected – yes they will. It is EU membership that has brought in paid maternity leave, anti-discrimination legislation, maximum 48-hour working week and four weeks paid holiday.

What else it there? Well I have already spoken at length about the EU funding Blaenau Gwent has received over the years.

The Works, the rail link and the Heads of the Valleys dualling were all made possible thanks to EU money, besides the countless other initiatives and community projects that have received grants through Objective One for example.

I urge you all to take a look around our valleys and think where we would be without be if it wasn’t for our EU membership.

Not to sound too Monty Python, but apart from the billions of pounds in funding, the trade benefits, the major redevelopment projects, the jobs and the strengthened security, what has being in the EU ever done for us? The answer is quite a bit.