On the 23rd June 2016, the people of the United Kingdom will have to decide on one of the most important issues facing Britain today - who governs us.
In this post, I will give my thoughts on why I believe the United Kingdom is better off outside of the European Union.
1) Security - The EU's freedom of movement policy means we have to accept EU 'citizens' but this has resulted in unlimited immigration, and the attacks seen in Paris by people who were able to travel through the EU without obstruction. The EU is unable to guarantee the safety of anyone within it's borders, and yes many Countries cannot guarantee anyone's safety 100%, the EU makes it difficult to deport sympathisers of terrorists which increases the chances of another attack within the EU and means we cannot remove any threats, nor can we detain them if it's decided that detention is against their human rights (as seems to be the case a lot).
Despite the EU's supporters telling us the EU has kept us safe, and prevented war, for the past 70 years, it's actually NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) that has kept us safe. Well NATO, our Police, Military and Intelligence Community. The Intelligence Community includes the 'Five Eyes' agreement, formerly UKUSA, which is an intelligence gathering network comprising 5 Countries that share intelligence on threats around the World, and because of our involvement in this we're able to stop most terrorist attacks from happening on British soil.
2) Economy - As part of the European Union, Britain has to abide by EU rules and this includes the amount of debt we can have as well as how the economy is run and what regulations are applied to our banking, financial and other sectors.
Although we're outside of the Eurozone, it's likely that we'll have to help financially - again - if the Eurozone faces another crisis and this will cause more problems for our economy as the Government borrows more money but at the same time cutting investment in public services further (austerity policies). This will also mean banks and businesses being unable to access cash needed, the economy will contract and unemployment will rise putting more strain on public services, particularly social security and local authorities.
It has been made clear by many politicians that the EU is working on their 'ever closer Union' which means a full European Federation of States. The EU has been unable to keep the Eurozone's economy stable and having Britain integrated into the Eurozone would mean instability for our entire economy and the City of London would no longer be seen as one of the major international financial centres of the World - worrying as the resulting exodus of businesses and capital will destroy our economy causing a collapse that we would be unable to stop.
As it is, we're having industries ruined by EU rules which makes it illegal for State aid, although certain States are acting contrary to the rules and getting away with it (Germany for instance). Britons have always respected laws so we tend to do what we're supposed to be doing, and our businesses have suffered because of this. The latest victim is the steel industry - we cannot do anything about Chinese steel being dumped and redundancies caused by this will not help get public service finances under control as any redundancy payments will have to be spent on mortgages so social security assistance will be required at some point.
3) Immigration - As part of the EU we have to accept the EU's policies on freedom of movement, which means we cannot stop EU 'citizens' arriving in Britain and this results in the unlimited immigration problems we've had so far. This is also mentioned in point 1, security as we cannot deport many threats due to their status as EU citizens.
When Countries have joined the EU their citizens tend to take full advantage and travel to the other States. In Britain this has caused major problems as our public services struggle to deal with a sudden influx of people who rely on them for financial and medical assistance. The Department of Work and Pensions has been one of the hardest hit departments as jobcentres have to deal with many more people who may not speak English very well and need employment. On top of the language issues, there is also the financial cost to the taxpayer for what is effectively unlimited immigration as no EU citizens can be refused entry and when they arrive here they either find work immediately or they need to sign on for benefits. And both have their own problems.
For those who come here to work, although admirable it means there is suddenly a lot less in the way of opportunities for people already here and that results in more people becoming unemployed as people from outside Britain who relocate here tend to accept lower wages/salaries which local people cannot compete with due to housing costs and other financial outgoings. On top of the increase in unemployment, those who come here to work also, at some point, tend to claim in-work benefits which puts more pressure on the social security administration.
The people who come here without a job and either just haven't been able to find anything, or have no intention of working, are the ones who then claim not just job related benefits but also housing and council tax benefits and are the biggest drain on public services. This also gives immigrants a bad name as people assume the majority of immigrants practice 'benefit tourism'.
Immigration has to be controlled, less people coming in means the economy benefits from anyone working, and also means people living here are able to claim assistance when required because the safety net is kept up, and not cut down due to abuse. Lower immigration tends to mean people are better integrated into British society as they need to communicate with locals for services and goods. Outside of the EU we can control our borders and let skilled workers in, minimising the chances of unskilled workers being kept unemployed.
[If we leave the EU, then we can improve our economy, fix our borders and help genuine refugees to resettle in safety within the UK under our protection]
