Britain’s involvement with the European Union is often a point of controversy and a recent report by the Guardian states that 56% of voters would choose to leave the EU if offered the choice in a referendum – I am definitely part of that 56%, and here is why.
One of the main arguments to stay is that it will cost too much to leave, but in the long-run, leaving would more than likely benefit us. No longer would Britain be obligated to bail-out other failing European countries, such as Greece. Britain has contributed around £12.5 billion to help other struggling countries; which adds up to about £500 in tax from each British household. The Daily Mail reports Conservative MP Peter Bone, as saying “we should not be using money from hard-working British taxpayers to bail out a currency that we have nothing to do with”. Despite having the best of intentions, Britain has its own problems and it is time for us to stop pretending to be the hero of every situation and focus on ourselves. Overall the EU is becoming a drain on Britain, and it should no longer be the responsibility of hard-working British taxpayers to bail out people thousands of miles away.
A withdrawal from the EU could work in our favour with regards to our legal system. A story that is prominent in the news at the moment, and was debated in the last issue of SCAN was whether prisoners’ should be given the vote. At the minute, Britain is in direct violation of EU law, which states that a complete ban on voting for prisoners’ is not only illegal, but a violation of their human rights. EU laws tend to supersede our law, which effectively undermines the way we rule our country in the eyes of Europe. If we were to leave, it would reintroduce full ruling power back to Westminster. Furthermore, it could be suggested that the EU is a huge body of nations which is far too large to efficiently create appropriate legislation for each European country.
In addition to this, our current laws on immigration are lax at best, as we are forced to comply with EU regulations which demand that we accept all immigrants from EU countries. Although it might be seen as politically incorrect to say so, choosing to leave could improve our current situation, which leaves thousands of people unemployed, by keeping British jobs for the British. It is undeniable that immigrants who chose to work in our country have a positive impact on our economy and can be beneficial, but it also leaves British workers in a difficult position when it comes to finding employment. We should aspire to be like Australia – a nation founded on criminals that were outcast from British society – who now have one of the strongest economies in the world. It could be argued that the reason the Australians enjoy such a thriving economy is because they are selective about who can live and work in their country, and leaving the EU would enable Britain to follow suit with a similar policy.
Finally, leaving the EU would end the eternal question of: should Britain relinquish the British pound coin for the Euro? With the Euro, you cannot devalue if the currency becomes uncompetitive and has led to problems in Spain, Italy and Greece. Being able to devalue encourages competitiveness and gives the economy more flexibility compared to countries that use the Euro, who face high inflation. Embracing the Euro would also mean no independent monetary policy, which during an economic crisis means we can quickly cut interest rates in order to prevent further recessions. Although we’ve resisted it up until now, continuing to remain in the EU could eventually lead to us taking up the Euro due to pressure from other European countries.
