I don't get any of this to be honest...I just can't see why we'd want to leave. On my street there are families and single people from England, Wales, Ireland, Jamaica, Italy, Brazil, Turkey, Greece, France, Spain, Australia, Pakistan and Eastern Europe... it's a short street, and those are just the people that I've spoken to for long enough to know roughly where they're from - many of the families and couples are mixed race, and their UK born kids go to school with mine. It's such a melting pot that the idea of stopping "foreigners" coming over is just absurd... These people aren't foreigners, they're my neighbours, and by and large they are hard working people struggling to pay their mortgage just like I am... As it happens I am one of a handful of born and bred Londoners on the street... half of the English people are from up north, or somewhere else... What do I care? If they want to live here they're blooming well welcome to! Why should I care whether they're from Manchester or Turkey for christsakes? What difference does it make? Are any of these people to blame for my local hospital being sold off for a rip-off housing development? Or the lack of funding at the local nursery? Or the exorbitant rents/property values forcing many working people out of the city? I'm not seeing it. My local Wickes has a line of men outside it every day looking for work. Mostly immigrants (probably illegal in many cases) and presumably outside of the social security net. One thing's for sure if they had a cushy life on benefits they wouldn't be standing around in the rain and freezing cold, practically begging for work. I feel deep compassion and sympathy for these men - if this is the "better life" they emigrated for it must be bloody awful back home, and who am I to say that they don't deserve a chance to make a better life for themselves and their family. We've all got it easy compared to these guys! I just can't help but see this anti EU thing as some kind of misplaced nationalism/racism - it just doesn't make sense to me... if it's not about immigration then what is it about? And if it is about immigration then what's the problem? One thing's for sure, if Cameron wants out it's not for the benefit of the common man. A lot of people see this in terms of them and us, I have to say I don't identify with that perspective. I suppose it all depends on your concept of "us".
Cameron wants out to protect the financial sector. They don't want London being the main centre for trading in Euros, they want it done within the euro zone. Europe would love to dismantle the City and put in some Franco-German Stock Exchange for Europe. But to answer your immigrant question. We can't house or job everybody who fancies a better life in the UK. I'd love to live in Australia or America for a better life, but I can't. I'm not going to force my way in either. If my country was in severe trouble, I'd fight to protect it or stay to rebuild it.
Put simply: if you chose isolation over co-operation, at some point in time, you'll exhaust your own limited resources...unless you enjoy going to war
Why didn't you say that? I dont mind a bit of co-operation - but integration is something completely different.
integrataion, as I understand it, is simply a means by which individuals or organisations are united by a common set of values...(talking of a level playing field) football springs to mind...two teams can compete fairly, provided they respect the rules. Both teams are integrated (united....boooo!) under the auspices of current footballing conventions.
I voted against joining the common market way back when and nothing has happened to change my views. The sooner we get out the better. It's not about racism or immigrants, it's about controlling our own economy for our people (of whatever ethnic origin). Our country is so different from the european mainland that it is nonsensical to be governed by their rules. I would even vote ukip if that was the best chance of leaving the eu!
This is a good point and it may be true, we just don't know whether this would have happened anyway and would we be even better off if we hadn't wasted money on supporting overproducing euro farmers and paying bureaucrats to administer this whole lot.
it's a fair point, but our economy is inextricably linked to those of the EU membership. So much of our industry and commerce is transnational, that it seems like we'd be cutting our own economic nose off to spite our face...true their are many other trading nations we could develop relations with, but if it came down to it, I'd rather buy butter from France, where we can be assured of the quality, than say the Sudan, where we can't, even if it costs more. Naturally, I'd prefer to buy locally produced butter of the same quality, but in the absence of a supplier, I can't...extend this to other goods and services and consider the environmental and humanitarian implications, and it's easy to see why belonging to a mutually assured trading association has many benefits
So what you saying is that no one will sell to us? and we won't be able to sell to them? All of a sudden as if by magic a curtain will come down on trade. I don't believe that for one second, yes relationships will change, but I cannot believe to the extent the fear mongers suggest. Its not like we share the same currency and there are no exchange rate issues already, etc.
As a gentleman said on news night the other night....." If we leave the EU will Germany suddenly refuse to sell any BMWs or mercs in Britain? Of course not, don't be sdilly" I might of made the don't don't be silly bit up
Precisely, and as a block, they need us more tyan we need them, we are a net importer where the EU is concerned. Let them beg.
What will now ensue, just as with the Scottish referendum, is a concerted effort to frighten us that leaving the eU will leave our families destitute. It'll be the end of civilisation as we know it, it will cost every family £10K a year blah blah blah. Whatever you think, you have to wonder why business is so keen on europe seeing as most of it exports a big fat ziltch? it has to be cheap labour, and by that I don't mean to demean johnny foreigner, I mean the bigger the labour pool, the more competition for work - competition is what drives down labour costs. I do believe that with a smaller labour pool, working people would actually have more power, never mind legislation, it's supply and demand.
