Opening the door on Europe

Well, despite spending a long time away from here, I have not forgotten all about it. So I’m returning to it again to tackle the big issue in the UK at the moment: the EU Referendum. And what an issue it is.

So far, most of the information that had been peddled by both the Remain and Leave campaigns have been mutually accused as ‘Project Fear’, a term that was also used by the Yes campaign during the Scottish Independence Referendum in 2014 (More on that later). The Remain campaign has mostly been focussing on the economic impact of Brexit (British exit from the EU for anyone reading this whose been outside of the UK news bubble) arguing that Britain’s departure would have a huge negative impact on our economy; we receive not only huge amounts as being a member of the EU thanks to the lack of trade barriers that we receive being a member state, but also this would affect other trade as international companies would be willing to move elsewhere to have access to the European market.

The Leave campaign, by contrast, has focussed on immigration as its main issue for leaving the EU; only by leaving the European Union and the ‘uncontrolled’ migration that it allows between its member states and those refugees and immigrants wishing to pour into Britain can we restore our national sovereignty whilst being able to reclaim the money we would otherwise spend on the untold millions entering the country seeking to steal our jobs and robbing our unemployment benefits at the same time and use it to save our welfare state and the NHS. (Yes, the sarcasm is coming off a bit strong there – I know)

So, they’re the key areas really – either you’re a friend of big business who doesn’t want to see the economy go down the tubes or you’re a closet racist with particular position on Schrodinger’s migrant who is simultaneously taking your job and your unemployment benefits. One obviously is coming across as worse than the other really, but accusations continue to fly. The Leave campaign, or Brexiteers for a catchier, youthful name, have argued that the Remain campaign is only looking to help big business and the large multinationals that benefits by the UK staying in, whilst the ordinary person in the street doesn’t see any of those benefits. The Remain campaign have accused the Brexiteers of being…well, how I described them earlier.

All in all, it is not a pleasant or hopeful message for either to pitch really. Both sides are pandering to make you vote for their option out of fear for the other side – would you rather have a national economy come crashing down and be abandoned on the world stage or find yourself surrounded by immigrants & no say on any laws in your own country?

So, what do I think?

I am, like many of my generation, pro-Europe. The EU has been around for my entire life so I could not begin to imagine a world without us being a part of it – those who do remember it will harken back to the glory days of the 1970s when it was still the EEC (European Economic Community) that saw Ted Heath take us into the Common Market the referendum two years later in 1975 that saw us overwhelmingly supporting being a member. Back then, I would have voted for us to leave.

My reluctance when it comes to the EU are the same arguments that were made by the late great Tony Benn – there is a fundamental democratic deficit within the EU. It’s leadership and composition is only partially democratically elected by the populations of its member states, whilst the remainder is appointed internally. Quite famously, or infamously depending on outlook, if the EU were to apply to join itself, it would not meet the criteria required as a democratic state to join. Equally, the nature of the European Union today is a free market national community – one of the reasons that Margaret Thatcher was an early supporter of the EEC prior to her change of heart as Labour become pro-EEC/EU when workers’ & trade unions rights were made possible through its membership.

Despite this, I am a reluctant European. The benefits that we gain through membership to the EU; workers’ right, paid holiday leave, gender equality in the workplace, etc. are all secured through our membership to this exclusive club that helps bring together and unite the continent of Europe. A continent that has, for most of its history, been engulfed in bloodshed & warfare. We now live in a Europe of peace, where war between European nations is no longer a possibility thanks to the EU. (I would now encourage anyone wishing to looking into this particular fact towards Robert Schuman, the father of the EEC, and how he came up with the idea in the first place)

Fearmongering in politics has become commonplace – it was seen in the Scottish Independence Referendum and is also now being seen in the US presidential elections. What we need in politics is not fear and a place to direct anger, but hope and way to make things better for ourselves and all other people. Making people passionate about a cause you believe in is always a good thing if it can provoke like-minded people to band together, but only if it means the building of a better society that doesn’t cause the mindless destruction of the society that we live in already. Love and compassion are easier to understand than hate and prejudice.

I’ll probably get more into the EU Referendum as time passes by on it with specific references to some of the more notable events and individuals so far (Boris, I’m coming for you!) but this should serve as an opener for you in the meantime.