in or out
I’m an unashamed Europhile and make no bones about my desire to want to remain in the European Union. Contrary to Mr Farage’s assertion that it upsets him to hear so many different languages on his daily commute, I love it and delight in the obvious nature of this country’s diversity and inclusion. If it were up to me I would now be campaigning for full monetary integration and would gladly trade our sovereign currency for that of the Euro. No, really. So, it’s against this backdrop that I have to admit I am disappointed by the descent into the fractious, overly-aggressive, scare-mongering, bickering & personality driven campaigns employed by both the ‘remain’ and ‘leave’ camps. And, perhaps as a result of this negative campaigning, it’s all a bit too close to call.
So let’s try and look at it as objectively as possible and perhaps concentrate on some of the ‘facts’:
– Mass immigration is unpopular in Britain and is consistently ranked as one of the most important issues facing the nation.
– In 1991 our population was 57 million and by 2014 it had grown eight million to 65 million. 75% of this is attributable to migration.
– About half of this migration figure, approximately three million, is from within the EU, representing 5% of the population.
– Under the EU’s ‘Dublin System’ responsibility for asylum claimed by non-EU immigrants falls on the member state where asylum seekers first arrive.
– Freedom of movement with the EU has existed since 1957 when it was enshrined in the Treaty of Rome.
– Notwithstanding grounds of ‘public security or public health’ this freedom of movement is non-negotiable. I repeat, non-negotiable. As David Cameron found out.
– EU migrants are on average, better educated than their UK equivalents.
– Migration has added to the overall size of our GDP. However, the GDP per head remains the same. Hence, the real impact is minimal.
– EU migration has depressed wages in low-pay sectors such as hospitality, care and construction.
– In areas of concentrated migration pressure on housing and public services has increased.
– If we adopted the Swiss & Norway approach to a single market we would still have to accept complete freedom of movement.
– If we removed ourselves from the EU AND the single market all our exports would be subject to European import tariffs.
There we have it. Like the EU referendum in general, it appears to be a choice between an unpopular & poorly understood status-quo and a barely thought-through & yet to be determined alternative. In or out? You pays your money, you takes your choice…
