The advocates for leaving now wish to do so mostly because
of what it costs the UK. Not once in the last 32 years has the UK received more
money than it has paid into the growing organisation and with the EU bailouts of Ireland, Greece and Spain, we are having to borrow
more money to prop up a dying currency. However, leaving the EU won’t stop the
bailouts. Through the IMF, we would still end up contributing money to the EU
bailouts, and any European economic struggles would be reflected in our own
economy.
Last week, Cameron said that he did not believe that ‘voting
to preserve the exact status quo would be right.’ He brought in the potential
for a referendum on the EU under a future Conservative government. This was
mostly for political reasons, trying to counteract the growing amount of voters
moving from the Conservatives to the UKIP. By appearing to be more Eurosceptic,
he hopes to win over their allegiance for the next election, as well as
appeasing the more Eurosceptic Tory backbenchers. The point still stands, however: the
Conservative Party believes that we cannot continue having the same,
unsustainable relationship with the EU, which currently acts like a leech on
our already strained public finances. But it is not the time to act. Not whilst
both bodies have to adapt to balance the books.
Leaving would have a significant impact on our country. We
pay just under £5 billion annually to the EU, and for that, we gain influence
on the negotiating table of Europe, which decides common laws, financial
regulation and agricultural policies. We would also lose the single market,
which gives us the security of exports without fear of tariffs or other
negative incentives. We would also lose influence: politically, as we would not
be able to influence the currency bloc and would seem less significant; and
financially, as there are many businesses, such as the German bank Deutsche
Bank, that are key to London’s financial sector, which many not want to be
based in a non-EU country. All in all, leaving the EU may result in tariffs
reducing our exports, European products becoming more expensive to the UK
consumer, and a reduction of financial ties to key European partners. Many
would still say, however, that these losses would be worth it for the gain in
sovereignty and capital we would gain from leaving.
This link sums up well the main reasons why the current form
of the EU is counter-productive.
Uncontrollable immigration; budget-busting bailouts;
restrictive, expensive and counter-productive bureaucracy. If the EU continued
in such a way after its needed change, the UK should have a referendum on our
membership. For the time being, we should remain in the EU. This is because
leaving it would have very few and relatively insignificant advantages, far
outweighed by its disadvantages. Imagine the scepticism it would create for the
EU, and how its bonds will drop. Regardless of whether we are in the EU or not,
our economics bonds would still exist, and so any EU economic woes would be
reflected in our economic outlook. So, I say, let’s ride it out for the present
time. As Cameron said, ‘we should neither pay for short-term measures, nor take
part in longer-term integration’; we should just continue for the short-term
with the status-quo, until the EU emerges in its new form to deal with the
single currency’s problems, and the UK stabilises its economy.
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