BREXIT - or remain? Still undecided?!

Having spoken, yesterday, with a good friend who is still "undecided" with regard to the referendum that is to be held just one week from today, I offer this video.  Well worth watching.

Brexit, or Remain - some misconceptions.

On a website in which I am involved in France, one of the other contributors commented that, as far as the forthcoming Referendum is concerned "we will just have to wait and see"!!  The problem with that attitude is, in my opinion, that by that time it will be too late to do anything about it!  In this post, therefore, I want to share some information that will, I hope, clear up some misunderstandings.

The first of these is that we are being asked about our continuing membership of the European Union; we are not being asked about our connection with Europe!  The first of those is a political entity that is, in the eyes of many of us, dictatorial, undemocratic, disingenuous, and discredited.  The second is a geographical landmass from which, for as long as records have been kept, we have been separated by the stretch of water known as The English Channel (in the English language), or La Manche (in the French language).  Regardless of the result of the Referendum, that physical, geographical, situation will not change!  We will still be an 'offshore' part of the Continent of Europe!

Nor has the Referendum anything to do with the United Nations, G8, or G20.  This means that, even if we do leave the EU, we will still have a major voice on the world stage.  Indeed, the only problem there is the weakness of our so-called "leadership" - with a PM who has less backbone than a dead jellyfish!

The Referendum has nothing to do with travel in Europe.  Contrary to the statements made by some of those in the "Remain" camp - who not only should know better, but who also do know better - travel around Europe will not be stopped.  It is certainly possible that we would have to have our passports stamped, as in the pre-EU days but, speaking personally, I would welcome that.  Indeed, for as long as I was able, after the "barriers" were opened, I requested the person at the Border Post to stamp my passport, as it was part of my personal "souvenir collection"!  One commenter has even suggested that post-Brexit UK travellers would be able to avoid long queues at, e.g., airports, by being able to go through the "non-EU" gates!  Britain will not be “drifting off into the mid-Atlantic” if it leaves the EU, as Nick Clegg likes to say.

Our national security will not be diminished! We will not be voting on our membership of NATO (The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) which is the real reason that there has been relative peace in Europe - not merely since the inception of the EU, but since the end of the Second World War! If the UK should become the target of hostile action from a non-NATO member, then other NATO member-countries are obliged to come to our assistance.  This would not change in the event of a Brexit result on June 23rd.

We will not be voting to leave either the European Economic Area (EEA), or the World Trade Organisation (WTO).  The EEA Agreement specifies that membership is open to member states of either the European Union or European Free Trade Association (EFTA). EFTA states which are party to the EEA Agreement participate in the EU's internal market without being members of the EU. They adopt most EU legislation concerning the single market, however with notable exclusions including laws regarding agriculture and fisheries. The EEA's "decision-shaping" processes enable them to influence and contribute to new EEA policy and legislation from an early stage.  All of the UK's trade and benefit agreements will remain unchanged should we leave, until such a time that the UK decides to renegotiate them for any reason.

Well, that's probably sufficient for now.  However, I shall endeavour to post some further information before the end of the week. 

BREXIT - or remain? Immigration.

I was unable to watch all of last evening's Newsnight programme on BBC television, but I managed to watch some, and have read a number of comments since.  It was, as is not uncommon at the present time, a disgrace.  The "I'm not sure what I identify as", allegedly comedian, Eddie Izzard appeared in the most bizarre outfit - looking, as others have pointed out, like Vera Duckworth from Coronation Street! However, it appeared that he was there for the prime purpose of interrupting, and shouting over, Nigel Farage, beside whom the "unbiased" (believe that if you will!) BBC had seated him/her/it.  Mr Dumbleby was, as usual, about as useful as the proverbial chocolate tea-pot as far as keeping order was concerned!

The major bone of contention between them was on the subject of immigration, and the way in which the UK being a member of the EU has effected it.  Nigel Farage claimed - and he is rarely, if ever, wrong in such claims (unlike Izzard, and most of the "Remain" politicians, he does his homework!) - that some 70% of the UK population want tighter controls on immigration.  So what are the relevant facts on that topic?

1. The EU is being flooded with immigrants - especially since Angela Merkel kindly opened the door to all and sundry!  Now please don't make the mistake, that Izzard and others make, of assuming that the Brexit supporters are totally opposed to any immigration at all.  What is demanded is controlled immigration, which is a totally different kettle of fish.

2. It is estimated that some 5,000 ( a conservative figure!) of those who have entered the EU since the Merkel invitation, are members of ISIS.  One does not require an IQ of 160+ to work out why they are taking advantage of this lovely "open doors" policy!

3. Members of other EU states are flooding the UK, claiming millions of pounds in benefits - and even having Child Benefit Allowance sent to their native countries with, as far as I am aware, not even an attempt to check as to whether, or not, those children even exist.

4. Immigrants from EU countries (yes, I know that non-EU immigrants are part of this problem as well, but that is a separate issue - although one that would also be able to be dealt with more easily if we were, once again, an independent sovereign nation) are already putting enormous pressure on public services: NHS; schools; social housing; transport; etc

5. If (or ought that to be "When"?) Turkey is offered visa-free travel within the EU as part of its move towards full membership, another 78 million potential immigrants who would have to be accepted under EU rules.  Even if a mere 1% were to travel, that is still approximately 780,000!  By the way, no-one expects that the percentage will be anything lie as low as 1%!

Those are just five immigration-related reasons to vote LEAVE on June 23rd.  There are, undoubtedly, others.  However, in my opinion, those five are more than sufficient!

Remain - or Brexit? Industry.

In my previous post on the forthcoming referendum, I sought to deal with the economics of the situation - dealing especially with some of the claims made by those in the current Conservative government who favour the Remain camp.  These were claims made in the leaflet that the government put out - at a cost of £9 million. Of course, that was £9mill. of taxpayers' money, and it is always easy to spend other people's money!

In this post, I want to share some thoughts on the situation with regard to industry in the UK or, it might be said, the lack of it!

Since joining the then EEC in 1973, the whole of the British coal industry has gone.

Nearly all of the shipbuilding has gone.

ICI has gone, sold off to Americans (who ran it into the ground and laid off thousands)

British Steel has gone - sold off to Far Eastern companies. Again, thousands were laid off, year after year until, there wasn't the workforce to make it the continued production of steel a viable process.

All our power companies, and possibly the water companies as well, are foreign-owned - even "British" Gas!   How many knew that EDF stands for "Eléctricité de France"?

Coachworks, that built our trains in Derby and York, have had to close or lay thousands off, because our governments insisted on giving the work to foreign coach builders.  This, we were informed, was because, under EU regulations, they had to put the work out to EU tender.  Of course, other countries quietly ignored such regulations, and subsidised their own companies so that they would be sure to undercut any tender from a UK company!

I am currently visiting in N.Ireland, staying with friends in the North Antrim town of Ballymena.  I think that it is three major employers in this one town, who are closing down and making hundreds more redundant.  I confess that I am unable to confirm that this is because of EU interference - but the pattern would suggest that the EU has played at least some part in these closures.

We are now living in a country were no job is secure.  Workers rights don't exist (don't believe the government's spiel about how we are better off in the EU in order to protect our workers' rights).  If you want to claim unfair dismissal nowadays, you need to have worked for the company for two years (unless you are claiming discrimination).

There are more people working through agencies now than ever before - including the NHS! - and, whereas in the past, agency workers were on good money, they aren't anymore.  It is the agencies who make the "big bucks", and who are effectively killing the economy. For example, people are unable to get a mortgage, a bank loan, a car, or credit to buy goods, if they work through an agency.

And let's not forget "Zero hours contracts"! Where did these appear from? Where were the EU workers' rights that day ?  Why are they still being allowed to be used, and why are the government allowed to sanction people who refuse to take these jobs, by stopping their Jobseeker's Allowance?   Of course, they play right into the hands of some employers - the very ones who are in favour of the UK remaining in the EU! 

More to come. Whatever you do, please use your vote if you are eligible to have one. It is a privilege,and a responsibility that is not afforded to all!

BREXIT, or Remain? - that is the question!

With less than three weeks to go to what is arguably the biggest, most important, and most far-reaching, political decision for this generation, I want to share some thoughts on why I will be voting for the UK to LEAVE the discredited, disingenuous, dictatorial EU.  I claim no originality in anything that I post over the next couple of weeks, but wish to disseminate as much information as I can to as many people as possible.

Let's look, for example, at the economic arguments that have been produced by the Prime Minister and the Remainers. 

In the area of trade, they say 44% of the UK's exports go to the EU but the EU only exports 8% to the UK.  This, if one fails to examine the matter more closely, looks like a good reason to stay in the Euroclub.  However, one CANNOT honestly compare the 44% with the 8% because they are, in fact, completely different measures.

Indeed, the figure of 8% is actually 16%. If you want to look at what the EU (as a whole, all 27 other countries) exports to the UK, then you need to exclude the UK from the figures - obviously, because we can't export to ourselves!! The Remainers, through the tax-payer funded government pamphlet, has included the UK in the total EU export figures, thus arriving at a meaningless figure. If we exclude UK exports, then the other 27 countries have, as a whole 16%, of their exports coming to the UK - twice as much as the pro-EU government would have us believe!

Of course, 44% is still a much larger figure than even 16%.  This is where the Remainers' figures are even more disingenuous! The figures are shown as percentages. However, one figure is a percentage of only the UK's trade, whereas the other is a percentage of the whole of the EU's trade. This renders the comparison completely meaningless - one country being compared with 27 countries!

A concrete example may help to clarify the situation.  The 44% of UK exports that went to the EU in 2012 were worth £266b.  However, the 16% of the EU's trade coming to the UK was £296b.  In other words, the rest of the EU exported more to the UK than the UK exported to the whole of the EU!

Over the past ten years, on average, only three EU countries have exported less to the UK than we have to them (Ireland, Luxembourg & Malta). So the other twenty-four countries will most definitely want to continue trading with the UK, simply because we buy more from them!!   Of course, it is also worth noting that the three that don't fall into that category are hardly the world's largest economies!

Another way of looking at this is that the UK has 3 million jobs involved with our exports to the EU, but the rest of the EU has 5 million jobs involved with exporting to the UK. See how stacked in the UK's favour it is?

It is quite astonishing that a major political party would manipulate figures in the way the Conservative government members who are supporters of the EU have done. The clear aim has been to mislead anyone who does not understand figures and percentages.  The people who have most to gain from being a part of an increasingly authoritarian EU, are the Political, Financial and Media moguls. They have everything to gain (cheap labour). They would love to turn the clock back and drive the working people of this country back to Victorian times. To vote to stay in one would, in my opinion, have to be either insane, or deluded!

Vote LEAVE - it's the sensible, and patriotic, thing to do.