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| Farage might aim to draw in would-be Tory voters with his 'non PC' attitudes and beer banter, but don't be fooled - he still went to public school. www.bbc.co.uk |
In 2015, Nigel Farage made himself known as the world champion for being able to blame pretty much anything on immigration. Feeling a bit under the weather? It's the immigrants. Boyfriend cheated on you? Immigrants. HIV positive? Probably immigrants. Though he did manage to attract voters through his down to earth wit and snappy straight talk, he also clarified that mechanically blurting 'immigration' like a broken record to justify just about every problem this country faces is not a great technique for convincing the public that you're a well-educated, well-rounded leader. But now, one year on, and Brexit campaign has adopted this 'immigration' chant as a sort of mantra, forgetting that this type of ignorance and misinformation was laughed that this time in 2015. EU immigration is by no means a great thing, and it is not beneficial for everyone, however leaving the EU for this simple reason would be a dangerous decision for our country to make on June 23rd.
Statistically speaking, immigration is good for our economy - immigrants pay more in than they take out. However, although this is a fact, it is not a figure that is going to calm a British worker who fears an immigrant is a preferable employee to them because they will accept a lower wage. Those who fear unemployment cannot be expected to relax by studying immigration on a nationwide level - people care for themselves, and this will always be the case. However, the current problem of job security due to EU immigration is minuscule when compared to what will be the case if we decide to vote leave.
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| CEO of easyJet is pointing out the prices of flights and holidays would rise outside the EU http://www.mirror.co.uk/money/goodbye-cheap-flights-easyjet-chief-5683266 |
Presently, three million UK jobs are directly linked just to 'trade' within the EU's single market. There seems to be this false idea that all of our trade is with China and America, but this isn't really correct - in March 2016 51% of our imports came from the EU, tariff free. If we chose a strict agreement to leave the EU and prioritise what seems to be the main agenda now (restricting ourselves from the free movement of people), we would most likely sacrifice this place in the single market, meaning prices would go up significantly and those three million jobs would be put at risk. That would mean individuals who currently don't face the 'downsides' of the EU would start seeing their food bills rising, holidays becoming less affordable and and jobs being put at in peril.
And, on the other hand, if we follow in Norway's footsteps with a looser agreement that maintains our access to the single market, it would most likely mean compromising with the other member states and accepting freedom of movement, like Norway currently does. In short, immigration wouldn't fall at all.
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| There are no guarantees that immigration will be cut after a Brexit vote www.telegraph.co.uk |
Brexiters need to remember that, if we leave, the public will not get a say on what 'type' of agreement we opt for - we won't be able to choose whether free movement stays or goes. Also, that £350m a week we would supposedly save by leaving? If we want access to the single market, it's going to cost - and The Guardian estimates emulating a deal like Norway's would only lose us 6% of the costs we currently pay. Brexiters nationwide should be prepared for a bargain that they did not vote for, and shouldn't be misled by the misconception that Britain will be able to stamp its feet and get what it wants when it comes to making awkward agreements with the 27 other member states upon our grand exit.
Campaign leave has targeted those who fear for their job security with a false promise that EU immigration will be put to a final halt should we choose to leave on June 23rd. There's no guaranteeing that this will be the case. The EU's not perfect, but that doesn't mean we should neglect it here and now. We laughed at Farage in 2015, and I think it's laughable that our nation is now debating whether to leave the world's second largest economy almost purely for a distaste to immigrants that once was considered a joke.
Very well written and argued...but
ReplyDeleteLeaving Nigel Farage aside, areas such as Medway are under severe pressure from immigration (whether legitimate, illegal, economic or as genuine refugees) because there simply is not enough accommodation to go around. Build more houses? Those that are being built in swathes are creating problems with pressure on transport, health provision, schools, sanitary and other council services. It's a knock-on effect that cannot continue indefinitely. One argument I've heard is that only a small percentage of Britain is built on but not only are there areas that cannot or should not be built on because of the terrain or difficulties with providing services (think mountains, Scottish Highlands, flood plains, marshlands, etc), do you really want to brick and tarmac the whole country to the detriment of wildlife, air quality and ecology in general? Do you want to have your nice big house divided into apartments to cram more in? Immigration can and has be beneficial in many ways but not if it is uncontrolled. However, as the article addresses issues wider than immigration it should be noted that the Leave campaign does also. The article states, "Brexiters nationwide should be prepared for a bargain that they did not vote for," but that is precisely what we have at present with unelected bureaucrats issuing edicts which member states cannot vote on and mostly have to follow. The EU Treaties of Rome and Maastricht compel member states to move towards becoming a United States of Europe where sovereignty, fought for in two devastating world wars, is ceded to the EU meekly and without taking up arms - a process already begun. Because we pretty much know what the EU will be like over the next decade or so, the Remainers have fought a negative scare-tactics campaign. But will Britain crumble on all fronts outside the EU? Unlikely. Will industry suddenly not be able to sell to the EU as we will not be able to buy French wine and Italian cheese? That would be economic suicide for every company. Will Spain make it more difficult for the millions of UK tourists to holiday there, pumping billions into their coffers and shoring up their economy? What do you think? The European Economic Community (EEC) was supposed to set up a single, free-trade area across Europe. It was not supposed to take away the power of individuals to choose their own government to make their own laws. Still adamant about staying in? Why not watch Jeremy Paxman's programme for the BBC 'Who Really Rules Us?' or 'Brexit The Movie' or read an article by the author Frederick Forsyth? The truth is out there.
Paxman in Brussels: Who Really Rules Us?
http://bbc.in/1Ygm3z7
www.brexitthemovie.com
http://www.express.co.uk/comment/columnists/frederick-forsyth/651377/Brexit-referendum-EU-never-meant-to-be-democracy-says-Frederick-Forsyth
Thank you for reading! I completely understand what you are saying.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I completely understand your point about Campaign Leave tackling more than just immigration – this is true. Had I been able to go into depth about what both sides want for the country I would have, but I do feel most already know this, and I didn’t want to bore people!
I also understand your point about the ‘Remain’ campaign not actually getting what we’ve bargained for either. Until we have proportional representation in this country, voters will never get what the country wants as a whole, and I strongly disagree with this sort of democracy. However, the intention of my article was to clarify the misconception that Brexit will bring us a sort of ‘release’ from this type of politics, as many believe it can offer. People seem to be under the misconception that a UK exit would be ‘taking back our country’, where we are able to put a clamp down on immigration once and for all and make all our laws. This simply won’t be the case!
My aim was just to bring to light that, whilst I understand there are reasons to vote Brexit, it isn’t going to revolutionise our country like people think it will. I believe Brexit campaign is largely appealing to emotion and targeting individuals who fear for their own job security, without examining the bigger picture and looking at the country’s economic situation on a national level. Whilst Campaign Remain is employing scaremongering techniques, Campaign Leave seems to be spreading false promises to those who perceive at as an ‘alternative’ to what we’ve got now. I just wanted people to take this into mind before they choose to vote leave, and perhaps research further into what a Brexit would actually mean for our country.
I trust I haven’t changed your perception on this! But, whatever you chose to vote, thank you again for reading and responding! I’ve also got to say that, in a way, I’d rather people voted Brexit than didn’t vote at all.