MAIN SUMMARY

When I started this process I honestly did have an open mind. However, it soon becomes obvious to anyone researching the main issues concerning our EU membership in more detail that this isn’t a debate at all; it’s a one horse race. This is not a subjective issue, it’s very clear cut and as such it is pointless to offer an opinion of it being night or day outside when the sun is clearly shining.

'It soon becomes obvious to anyone researching the main issues concerning our EU membership in more detail that this isn’t a debate at all; it’s a one horse race.'

'Giving control back to our government is not the way forward because they not only caused the problem in the first place but they are also failing to deal with it now.'

If you have arrived here thinking otherwise, then I’ll be clear. Most people coming here I expect to be confused and uncertain as to what to the truth is and subsequently undecided about which way to vote. As that is the case just giving more information without drawing any conclusion from the evidence given would be as useful to you as a chocolate tea pot. I have therefore used the insight I’ve gained from spending three weeks researching this subject to give you my opinion. You either accept it or you don’t, but I hope at least your visit here will become a catalyst that prompts you to give it further thought.

If you do find it useful, then please do share it. This is one of the most important political decisions we will ever make and the more people that are prompted to think about it carefully rather than resorting to a knee-jerk reaction based on a sound bite, the better

You’ll find a short summary of the facts relating to each issue as I see them and the conclusions that can be drawn from them immediately below this paragraph. If you disagree with any of it then I suggest you either read more of the detail on this website or do some of your own research to help you to come to your own conclusions. Please note; none of the detail here is referenced as the conclusions are drawn from the main body of this website where the facts have been presented with the aid of detailed references.

Will leaving the EU stop immigration?
No. It may decrease EU immigration but it will not stop immigration from non-EU countries. Our ability to curtail immigration from EU member states is linked to whatever trade deal we strike if we leave. Broadly speaking the more wide ranging our free trade agreement is, the more it is linked to the free movement of people. An example of this would be the arrangement Norway has with the EEA.

Giving control back to our government is not the way forward because they not only caused the problem in the first place but they are also failing to deal with it now; and have failed to do so over the last 15 years. Back in 2004 when the Eastern Bloc countries joined the EU Britain had an option to impose a ‘transitional period’ whereby migration from the East would be limited. In Britain, the Blair government decided that uncontrolled emigration from Eastern Europe would benefit the UK economy. In other words this was not a problem created by the EU, it was created by our own government.

In addition to this, of the 330,000 plus migrants that come here every year more than half (188,000 last year) are from non-EU countries. In other words, these are migrants that our government has the most control over but have an appalling track record of failing to do so. This is very much a case of trying to lock the gate after the horse has already bolted – and that horse didn’t just bolt off willy nilly in a random direction, instead it was encouraged to head straight for Westminster and after it arrived it took a huge dump on the door step.

Who’s going to clear all that poop up now? By voting ‘out’ you would be handing a bucket and spade back to the government, and given their track record, all they’ll do is give it to a migrant worker and tell them to get on with it.

Leaving the EU will NOT solve the immigration issue.

Will leaving the EU increase democracy, control and accountability?
Nobody likes to be told what to do, but the idea that the EU is not accountable for their actions and controls everything we do is false. The EU is democratic, well, as democratic as our own government, and despite what you may believe it controls no more than around 60% of British law. And of course it should. We’re a member of a Union of states covering 28 countries FFS, if there wasn’t laws that protected the interest of everyone we’d end up with anarchy. We understand how this applies in everyday life so why is it so difficult to understand this concept when it’s applied to the EU? I mean you wouldn’t take up membership of a golf club and insist on taking your shotgun in to set up a clay pigeon shoot on the 18th hole would you? Rules are important and someone has to enforce them otherwise we won’t play nicely.

The important point to bear in mind here is that EU’s main work concerns the regulation of markets, consumer standards, environmental standards, foreign trade and aid; this accounts quite naturally for a large amount of regulation and is calculated at around 62% of UK Law. Incidentally, these are laws that if the EU didn’t regulate we would have to regulate ourselves anyway. The issues that matter to most voters (and this really is the most crucial point) – employment, social security, education, health, most taxes etc. etc. are handled at national level.

Do the government like this? No, but then that’s no surprise – and that’s one of the buttons they are trying to push with you. Members of any nation’s ruling class will always find rules imposed upon them (especially as regards worker’s rights and restrictions of trade) as irritating, objectionable and unacceptable declaring it undemocratic. They will have had no intention of allowing these provisions to become law in their country in the first place and they would naturally prefer a system that enables them to be repealed. In other words, they want less rights for their own citizens than the EU thinks they deserve or should have.

Leaving the EU will NOT make the British government more democratic; in fact the reverse is true. You will be giving them carte blanch to do whatever they won’t to do without restriction. But apart from that leaving the EU does not stop us being bound by their regulations in numerous situations, including international trade.

Leaving the EU will NOT make the British government more democratic; in fact the reverse is true. You will be giving them carte blanche to do whatever they want to do without restriction. But apart from that leaving the EU does not stop us being bound by their regulations in numerous situations, including international trade.

'In other words, the British government want less rights for their own citizens than the EU thinks they deserve or should have.'

Will leaving the EU maintain our sovereignty as a nation?
Personal identity is an issue that is important to all of us, and is certainly one of the main issues that the EU debate raises. But as we’ve already seen, everyone in the UK (including the Queen) is directly descended from European stock; in fact we’ve been invaded more times than a whore in a military harbour. However, the most important point to get to grips with (did you see what I did there?) is that we haven’t been a sovereign nation for donkeys year’s.

Even excluding the EU, Britain is subject to some 700 international treaties involving numerous multi-lateral submissions. Our membership of the UN, WTO, NATO, the COP climate talks, the IMF, the World Bank, nuclear test ban treaties and accords on energy, water, maritime law and air traffic etc. etc. similarly infringes our self-determination. Yet we submit to all of these knowing that, as with the EU, we are free to leave whenever we want; but at a price not worth paying. If sovereignty is the absence of mutual interference, the most sovereign country in the world is North Korea. Good luck with that…

Sovereignty in this day and age is relative, it’s never absolute. A country that refuses to pool authority is one that has no control over the effect of its neighbours and how their actions may transcend its boundaries. Regulation and standards be they financial, economic, security related or practical are vital to ensure cohesion rather than division. To live with globalisation is to acknowledge that many laws (both those devised by governments and those which surface as a natural consequence) are here to stay whether you like it or not.

Leaving the EU will NOT maintain British sovereignty for the simple reason that because of our involvement in global politics that ship has already sailed long ago.

'Sovereignty in this day and age is relative, it’s never absolute. A country that refuses to pool authority is one that has no control over the effect of its neighbours and how their actions may transcend its boundaries.'

Will leaving the EU boost trade?
No. You’ll see lots of models that show you it might, but then you’ll also see lots of models that will tell you otherwise. The reason for this is that what’s being proposed is totally unprecedented; no country has ever left the EU before so we simply don’t know what will happen. BREXIT campaigners will tell you that we can have access to the Single Market whenever we want and it’s just a simple process of striking a few new deals here and there. Don’t be fooled by this rhetoric. It will be a long and painful journey. The vast majority of independent sources suggest that the overall impact on the country’s economy will be negative; but even then no-one knows if it’ll be the equivalent of runny nose or a heart attack. So why would you do it?

The other argument relating to trade you will hear is that the EU is less important to us than it used to be. On this basis we would be better off out and should cast our trade net farther afield into emerging markets where our trade is increasing. Again, don’t be fooled by this one. Yes, our trade with the EU has decreased but it still accounts for around 45% of all the business we do. It’s incredibly important to our economy and will be for many years to come. The catch all phrase ‘EU trade has decreased’ does not allow you to appreciate the true value. It’s like assuming that just because you’ve bought a more fuel efficient car you won’t have to visit a petrol station anymore. You might visit it less but without it you’ll grind to a halt at the side of the motorway whilst you’re on your way to catch you cheap European flight to the South of France.

Leaving the EU will NOT boost trade – all the independent evidence suggests the opposite would be true.

Will leaving the EU reduce our costs so we can invest more in the NHS?
Unless you’ve been hiding a rock I’d like to think you already know the answer to this one. No. BREXIT campaigners have been spinning you another lie. Whilst there is a cost to be part of the EU and the Single Market it can be demonstrable proven to be of significant benefit to Britain – and always has been. And in any event, we’re back to the same argument about what one would expect from membership of any organization. Of course there’s a cost, who do you think pays to create, enforce and administer all the laws and regulations? Father Christmas’ pixies when they’re not busy wrapping presents? If not, it would be like going into a supermarket, filling your trolley up and expecting the cashier to pay you to take it away.

Yes, we pay the EU what appears to be a huge amount of money but the figures on this when repeated out of context mask the fact it’s very good value for money. So, to put it into perspective: the cost, minus the subsidies and rebates, equates to around 1.3% of public spending (so 1.3p for every £1 of tax you pay) and yet the benefit equates to around 13% of Britain’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - this is the ratio that economists look at to assess a country’s economic strength and resilience. Given the value it’s peanuts, and probably doesn’t even come close to the House Of Common’s weekly Gin bill.

The point is this; if we didn’t pay the EU for the benefits we receive we would have to pay out that money anyway to manage things ourselves. This would be more expensive than you imagine. As the head of the WTO (World Trade Organization) said last week; the cost of establishing new trade agreements on exports he believes (and he should know because he’s the guy we would be dealing with if we left the EU) would cost us £9 billion in export tariffs and a further £4 billion on imports. So not only would we not save money, it would cost us more money than our current membership. And that’s just regarding trade; forget the cost of managing a new immigration policy and paying back the subsidies the EU covers for us.

Leaving the EU will NOT reduce costs, it will increase them.

'Of course there’s a cost, who do you think pays to create, enforce and administer all the laws and regulations? Father Christmas’ pixies when they’re not busy wrapping presents? '

Will leaving the EU give us more freedom?
Well, it depends what you mean by that? Yes, we would be free to arrange our own trade agreements. Yes we could be free to control our borders (dependent on the trading arrangements as discussed previously) and yes, we would be free of some EU bureaucracy and red tape. But at what cost? We’ve already seen that costs would be increased by exiting; we’ve already seen that our government can’t control our borders; and we’ve already seen that red tape has to exist to prevent a melt-down and to prevent countries running amok. If that sounds like ‘freedom’ to you then you’ve got more of a warped sense of humour than I have. But apart from that exiting the EU could actually reduce our freedom, not increase it.

This is based on turning the immigration issue on its head. Did you know that the majority of migrants as a percentage of population in the EU come from Britain? In fact we’re second only to Mexico on a global scale. So if there is an migration issue in the EU we’re one of the ones causing it. On this basis, how do you think our neighbouring Europeans would feel about us exiting the EU whilst still allowing us to sweep across the continent like a bunch of paunchy Vikings? And how do you think they might treat our Expats? No-one knows is the answer, but I can tell you that if it were up to me I’d make damn sure to make you suffer – now, maybe that’s just me, but you have to admit it’s a concern.

Leaving the EU will not increase our freedom, but not only that, it could affect our personal freedom and the freedom of our Expats in ways we don’t expect.

If all of the above doesn’t convince you of what a fool’s errand this all is then maybe this will; I’ve saved the best ‘til last…

'If all of the above doesn’t convince you of what a fool’s errand this all is then maybe this will; I’ve saved the best ‘til last…'

The Cameron crap shoot – the real reason why we’re having a referendum
In 2013 Cameron promised the electorate a EU referendum if the Conservatives won the general election. The reason was entirely politically motivated; he needed to try and unite his party over Europe and also needed to deal with the rumblings UKIP leader Nigel Farage was stirring up in the belly of the nation regarding immigration. Fagrage (haha… that was actually a typing error, but I like it so I’ll keep it in…) and his cronies couldn’t win the election, of that there was no doubt, but his party could syphon of enough votes to hand a win to Labour by default. On this basis Cameron stepped up to the table knowing that the odds of a majority win for his party was so unlikely that throwing the dice would, statistically, only ever result in another coalition government. Under a coalition the Lib Dem’s and Labour would then veto the referendum (as they are mostly in favour of EU membership) allowing Cameron to save face. To everyone’s amazement the Conservatives won by a majority and now Cameron, hoist by his own petard, had painted himself into a corner.

Politicians are renowned for constantly backing out of promises made before an election, it’s an art form that’s been perfected over 100’s of years. So why didn’t he just renege on the deal? The answer is he couldn’t, the stakes were too high. If he backed out not only would his own party have strung him up by his knackers, but UKIP would have been in charge of tying the knot, and the press would have been lining up with a party pack of blunt knives to disembowel him.

With this in mind it’s of vital importance for you to understand that this referendum is NOT based on the political or economic belief that we should leave the EU; it’s purely based on the outcome of a badly judged wager that went horribly wrong.

The EU and U
Where does that leave you? In short; up against a wall with a blind fold waiting for the firing squad to come back from their lavatory break.

Whatever we decide the result will haunt us for decades. If it turns out well, then no biggie; but if it turns out badly (and as you’ve already seen there are numerous ways that it can) it’ll be our fault not theirs. We can’t hold them accountable for a decision they did not make - but as that die has already been cast, our job is to now make sure we make the right decision.

Just to reiterate: the government are NOT offering you this choice because they need your input, or because the result would be irrelevant. They are offering you this choice because their stupidity has forced them to. Far from being unimportant this decision will be the most important political decision you will ever make; the outcome of which will not only directly affect you now but will also affect generations of Britain’s (and Europeans) for years to come. That’s why you have a responsibility to inform yourself of the facts and to choose wisely.

Let’s suck it and see
You can’t give this a suck like a Wether’s Orginal and then wrap it up and put it back in your pocket to have another go at it later; unlike a general election you will not have the chance to revisit your decision in 5 years’ time. This is a once only decision and when the button has been pushed there’s no going back. If we say ‘no’ it’ll then take us two years to complete the process and during that time we will still be bound by EU law, and would still have to pay our fees. There is no going back.

In addition; if the decision is not a majority verdict either way, then we will have to go through the whole process all over again. If you want to slit your wrists now just imagine how that will make you feel.

Britain is the Titanic and just like the Titanic the people who ‘own’ it are certain that it is unsinkable – it’s our own special brand of arrogance and political narcissism that we can thank for that mind set. Life outside the EU is the wide expanse of the Ocean. Some bits are beautiful, some bits are less hospitable, but despite the apparent safety of the vessel there’s always a chance it can be hit by a storm or an iceberg on a day out. Once the ship starts to sink Britain will not be able to don a frock and some theatrical make up and hope to be one of the first to board the life boats. You’re on your own Britain; land is 400 miles North and the water temperature is pretty chilly, but I’m sure you’ll be fine if you start swimming now.

Just as an aside, did you know that the moment the Titanic sank, all the crew had their wages stopped? Isn’t that exactly like how you would expect our government to act in such a crisis?

In sickness and in health
Really all the rhetoric regarding our apparent dislike of the EU can be dealt with just by looking at how often we all agree on the same things. If we truly did have a problem with EU membership it would manifest itself in constant disagreements and conflict. This is where the famous BREXIT campaign lie of the 72 votes comes in. ‘We’ve voted 72 times and on each occasion we’ve been told NO!’ they protest. True, but you’ll see it’s ballcock and bummarage when put in context.

The number of ‘no’ votes are irrelevant when looked at as a percentage against the total number of votes we have participated in during our membership of the EU. When you do this you’ll see that of the 2,466 votes we’ve participated in on less than 2% of the occasions have we disagreed with whatever was being proposed (that’s the 72 votes). We’ve also abstained from voting 3% of the time. What this means therefore, is that 95% of the time we agree with EU law and policy. Now doesn’t that turn things on its head? It should do, unless of course you don’t want to be confused by the facts.

In essence it’s a bit like saying a couple should divorce after 43 years of happy marriage just on the basis of a few minor arguments.

'The picture at the top of this page is no accident; the in’s and the out’s are just like a couple of blokes in a bar waving their willies around whilst forcing us to watch.'

In a nutshell
The picture at the top of this page is no accident; the in’s and the out’s are just like a couple of blokes in a bar waving their willies around whilst forcing us to watch. For goodness sake why don’t they all just grow up? There is not a shred of evidence that voting ‘out’ will either solve our immigration problem or boost our economy; the reverse is true. But apart from that this referendum has been orchestrated on the basis of a lie. Cameron lost a bet and now he’s forcing us all to pay his debt.

If nothing else remember this; we’re in a relatively good economic place at the moment, house prices are up, interests rates and inflation are down and the EU is a partner with whom we agree with 95% of the time. Who in their right mind would rock that boat?

The problems regarding immigration run deep, and understandably so, but again remember it was caused by our government and not by the EU. The only hope of dealing with it lies in the ability for us to invest more in our infrastructure. Unemployment is not caused by migrants, the NHS problem is not caused by migrants and neither is the housing problem. These all stem from successive governments’ refusal to invest in our future, your future. How can they do that? Simples…

If the government devoted the time, energy and resources required to put Britain back on track after leaving the EU to instead commit to improving our relationship with the EU, we would all reap considerable benefits. Problem solved (that is assuming they don’t spend the extra cash on MP pay rises…)

Please vote ‘in’ on the 23rd , and if you are still unsure, please don’t vote at all - it’s far too important a decision to just guess at.

question everything

MAIN SUMMARY