Apparently you'd have to be 58 years old (or older) to have decided whether or not Britain went into Europe originally.
A big play in recent years has been a call for a referendum which is rumoured to be happening in 2017, do people reckon whether we stay in or out of Europe that it will make a big difference to our lives/ how will it actually affect us?
I wanted to ask the question now before the politicians ramped up the for and againsts and not having been old enough first time round to have known what was going on i'm interested in knowing what people think may happen as a result of a referendum.
My instinct at the moment is .... i haven't got a clue really , will we all just have to pay a few quid more to go abroad, or is it a bit more serious than that, & like the Scots when it came to their big vote , will the British public , be cautious and bottle it?
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I voted no then but have changed my mind since. I can't see any upside to leaving, if anything I would actually want a full political union with a federal Europe.
- If we leave the EU our trade with it is totally unaffected (It would be economic madness by other EU countries + Lisbon Treaty stipulates the EU must make a trade agreement with a country that leaves
- If we leave the EU we can actually make trade agreements with countries outside the EU. Iceland has more trade agreements with countries than the EU does!
- If we leave the EU it cuts the mass amounts of red tape that hits small businesses particularly hard
- If we leave the EU then British laws are made in Britain
- If we leave the EU we can control our borders (i.e not have 320,000 net migration in per annum)
I guess you could say I'm all for leaving.
I'm sat on the fence on his one.
I also keep hearing about the disastrous consequences but little content of what they actually are, so I'd be keen to learn.
I have read various comments on t'interweb, and loads saying it will be terrible if we leave, but when pushed no one can give examples why?
Norway, but without the sovereign wealth fund as well. I'll accept that the electorate has spoken and they want the Conservatives in government, but I hope that if we do go to the polls on Europe, we stay.
My first argument is business and the economy. The economy has been a focal point of why the Tories are back in, and business leaders have thrown their weight behind the Tories being the party to continue the recovery. Business for the most part is also behind Britain in Europe. I'm not his biggest fan as he sits in his tax exile thunderbird island, but the likes of Richard Branson advocate staying in. For me he epitomises the successful businessman, the Entreprenuer and Wealth Creation that is central to Tory party policy. We would jeopardise this if we left.
The EU has worked hard to broker trade agreements with other economic blocks, us with them as part of that block is stronger than us alone, trying to establish such agreements. The EU import a greater number of goods and services from the UK than any other part of the world as I understand it.
Business was very worried about what would've happened had Scotland left the Union. You can multiply that a hundred fold if we wanted out of the EU. Most business commentators spoke of the gridlock in terms of commerce around the time of the Scottish referendum for fear of uncertainty over the period of campaigning. Potentially, the in/out EU campaign could take a lot longer, leaving us open to a longer period of uncertainty and the knock on effects.
Everyone's favourite 'but the Poles come over and take all our jobs'. Yes I'll agree we need a controlled level of immigration and the freedom of EU workers takes that out our hand somewhat, but it has been estimated that we could suffer a £60b hit to our economy by 2050 if we did opt out. Some serious talent comes to our shores from Europe and although we have made some strides in improving our schooling system in STEM (science technology engineering manufacturing) talent for the next generation, we're not there yet. I don't know much about a lot of things but in my job it's an HR related business development consultancy. We engage with senior HR Directors and they have it right up their backside from their CEOs to attract and retain top talent and ensure talent pipelines guarantee company performance and competitiveness. Those companies are BRITISH. If those companies have the right talent they perform well, the British economy benefits.
Finally, and this is a personal viewpoint. We are far too tribal for the world we live in and the resources we have. We don't have a lot of natural resources left and what we do have, we need to collaborate and work together on. For me an exit from the EU would be like us saying a big 'fuck you' to the rest of the world and stating we'll take care of ourselves. We might not find that that easy.
Don't get me wrong, I'm as proud to be English as I am proud to support Charlton, but I firmly believe we are 'better together'
Also - please see this.
http://www.euractiv.com/sections/uk-europe/poll-only-1-british-bosses-want-uk-leave-eu-311840
I'm expecting every Tory voter in the general election to vote for us to stay in btw. Based on all I heard from the Tory voters I know is 'how well the economy has done'. If that's what they want then they'll listen to the captains of industry (i'm being a bit tongue in cheek here)
At the time I thought that he was just an ex bank worker sticking up for his chums. But I am genuinely worried now because our economy is so dependent on the financial services sector. If they all upped sticks and went to Frankfurt we could be in trouble. I suspect Cameron and Co appreciate that too.
I reckon that the City will start to gradually start to support a Yes vote.
The EEC then is not the same animal as the EU now - however I voted yes then and would do so again.
Many businesses would consider leaving the UK if we left the eu. The shared laws and regulations (non British laws) are actually beneficial to business regardless of whether you see it as losing power over our own country or not (which I agree should be something taken into consideration). This is because shared regulations means products made in any part of the eu meet requirements in any other part, so no alterations to products are needed, so the market for those goods is larger. Different regulations require different processes and more costs when altering products for the large eu market making British business less competitive. Not being part of the decision making process for these regulations would leave British business behind in the eu market - our biggest trading partner - as the eu would make laws suited for its own businesses and thereby increase adjustments needed from British business.
For me, the free movement of people is important as it affects me and many others in my family and friendship group.
I do agree with a referendum as ultimately the people of this country should be able to decide and the campaigns should aim to inform as much as possible.
If and it's a big if we can seure a trade deal with the EU ala Switzerland and Norway then in my view we keep all the benefits and lose the costs!
There was an article in the economist a while back saying that the EU would not be in a position to refuse us that deal! And on top of this Germany/France rely on our trade as much as we rely on theirs so not likely to want to lose us!
Then we could negotiate a trade deal with China India Brazil etc to see possibly cheaper imports! The same could happen to petrol prices if we deal with an exporting country!
We also would regain representation on the world trade organisation!
We also lose all that federal state of Europe run bish! And also remove the influence of the most corrupt body in the world the European Commission! Whose lasted proposal will allow them the power to set the budget in any member state (no longer sovereign?)! This deal was thrown out a couple years ago with Cameron leading the dissenters but they will keep trying till they get it! I don't want to be part of that!
As I said if it was about trade and the economy I would be pro! I could even overlook the obvious bias and flaws in the common agricultural policy and the common fisheries policy! However with the only option being this ever closer union well I'm out...
Of course those who voted in the 70s voted for something quite different from what the EU is today. Nobody has ever had a vote as to whether they wanted to be in a political union. For that reason alone we should have had a referendum on this much sooner than we have.
- If we leave the EU our trade with it is totally unaffected (It would be economic madness by other EU countries + Lisbon Treaty stipulates the EU must make a trade agreement with a country that leaves
- If we leave the EU we can actually make trade agreements with countries outside the EU. Iceland has more trade agreements with countries than the EU does!
- If we leave the EU it cuts the mass amounts of red tape that hits small businesses particularly hard
- If we leave the EU then British laws are made in Britain
- If we leave the EU we can control our borders (i.e not have 320,000 net migration in per annum)
This - couldn't have put it better myself - a federal government of Europe encompassing such a disparate group of countries will at some point collapse in on itself, just as the Euro will surely do.
We were right to stay out the Euro and will be right to stay out of a European super state so favoured by those in Brussels.
And all Europeans now require the Type G 3 pin plug?
What about Class A eggs?
Should we be using the Iberian guage for our railway lines then?
Seeing as 90% of the British Economy is not involved in trade with the EU,, I don't suppose this really matters anyway.
He basically looks at all the pros and cons and benfits and Consequences and weighs them is! He concludes that in the short run we would be marginally worse off in the medium term we will be almost exactly the same and in the long run we will be significantly better off!
He also takes the argument that to leave the is inward looking and an outdated idea and rips it to shreds! He says the idea of regional economies is outdated! We live in a global system and we need to be part of a global economy to thrive! And the EU is preventing us from doing that!
What would be the negative consequences of staying in the EU, and what are the real-life bad things that the EU has done to the UK in the last two or three years?