Why Britain should remain in the EU

The debate of whether in the EU referendum on 23 June 2016 we should vote remain in the EU or to leave is beginning to heat up. This blog post is one of two posts on the matter, this one focuses solely on why Britain should remain in the EU. To see the post on Why Britain should leave the EU please click here, please note these posts are designed be read in either order, if you have already read this post you can skip this introduction. The reason why I have decided to do two posts is primarily not to have to negate statements to put forward the view of the other side which may show bias towards one side or the other which is common in many comparison pieces I have read. I do of course have my own view on this, however, it is not for me to impose my views on anyone as they are my views alone so they will not be disclosed at any point in writing. The format of both posts will be a mirror, focusing on the topics of fees vs rebates, trade, investment, immigration, security, jobs, health care, sovereignty, and Britain in the wider world.

By creating two posts there will be a great deal of overlap as the same factual information will apply, however, this will demonstrate that depending on what side of the debate you sit your view is shaped. I am taking this approach as it is as if two people drew an elephant and one did from the front and the other from behind, the two drawings would be completely different but they could both say it was the same elephant!

These posts are not designed to give an overview of how the EU works, this itself would be a massive post and there are far more comprehensive and researched pieces available than I could produce due to blogging being my hobby. If you would like more information on the EU I would recommend to search on the internet for this, Wikipedia, is a good factual starting point although should always be approached with caution but will give context to what these blog posts are discussing.

Fees vs rebates

Britain’s membership of the EU for 2015 was £16bn for which we received £4.5bn worth of spending directly from the EU. This figure does sound like a lot of money, however, compared to the £250bn spent on health in 2013/14. This means that EU membership costs 6.4% of what the health did and the difference is 4.6%, in terms of what a politician would say, for every £1 spent on health we spend just over 6p on EU membership and get nearly 2p back. From the Britain Strong in Europe campaign, they do say that for each £1 that is put into the EU we get £10 from things such as trade and investment, this figure is of course needed to be taken with a pinch of salt from one of the campaigns, however, it does show that for the money we put in products and services are gained which of course all have a monetary value.

Trade

Approximately 50% of all our trade is done with the EU, this is only 27 other countries all but one of whom have a smaller population than our own. If you think about all the other countries around the world which have a far larger population than the UK, such as the USA, China and Russia we are focusing on a small portion of the world. These are our closest neighbours which makes the logistics of transportation of goods far more economical and environmentally friendly. For something such as free trade across Europe, which I'm sure for anyone who has bought anything from the USA and had the joys of a £8 handling charge before the import tax was applied that in itself is quite handy when if the same thing was bought from inside the EU that wouldn't be applied, which is applied across all imported goods from outside the EU.

Investment

An additional benefit of trade is investment, international companies such as banks and car firms have set up hubs of industry in the UK to trade both with ourselves and with the rest of the world. For all companies the biggest thing is: how do I make as much money with as little red tape as possible, which is a logical standpoint as if they feel restricted on the money they can make to invest in their company to grow they will just seek out another country that does not impose such restrictions. If by leaving the EU trade was restricted, companies would highly consider moving into the EU as it would be more cost effective for themselves. International companies are not tied to the UK so wouldn't see the impact of job losses in the same way as they would be creating alternative jobs elsewhere.

Immigration

Immigration the news depicts this as an open door for anyone who wishes to come to the UK from inside the EU can do so without any difficulties, there are 2.93 million non-EU immigrants in the UK compared to 1.73 EU immigrants which does show that immigration is a worldwide phenomenon and leaving the EU would not necessarily stop EU citizens moving to the UK. This is not a bad thing, for the NHS for example there was a recruitment drive within the EU for staff as we have a shortage of qualified British doctors and nurses, whom without the NHS would not be able to function. There is also the reverse, there are 1.4 million British people who live abroad in the EU, they would have to potentially move back to the UK in order to complete visas as is required in the US and Australia in order to return to their home and a career that they have spent many years establishing, many of whom may not even see the UK as home any more.

Security

Following the increase of terrorist attacks around the world national security is one of the biggest concerns to people after job security and their own personal welfare, nobody wishes to have to live in fear of whether the method of transport or their location is putting them in danger from potential threats. As a member of the EU we work together with other European countries to share intelligence to foil terrorist plots and have access to the European Arrest Warrant. If that intelligence was taken away from us we would need to fund the shortfall in monitoring at a great cost to ourselves and we would be left more vulnerable. The idea of closing the borders also seems a moot point as we cannot possibly screen everyone with closed borders and know their true intent of coming into the country, and also with less intelligence on people we would be at an even greater disadvantage.

Jobs

It is said that around 1 in 10 jobs are linked to the EU in some way, be it someone who pops over to France at a weekend for cheap booze and sells it in England at a high price for the privilege of it coming from the supplier or industry where they build components for any number of machines across the continent. If those links are broken and the cost to supply the goods is no longer cost effective the jobs will slowly dwindle and vanish. In a country that is still suffering the consequences of the 2008 economic crash, any jobs regardless of how they are created (so long as they are legal of course) do need to be considered. It also works in reverse, if you had a dream to live in an EU country and your experience was highly sought after you can do that legally without a need for a visa and all manner of paperwork.

Health care

The NHS is one of the biggest triumphs of modern Britain, this is not only limited to the UK, in Europe if we have the EHIC card we are entitled to either free or reduced health care within the EU and Switzerland. If you are sick abroad in one of 31 other European countries there is no worry whether you can afford the care that you need if it is necessary. This is something that is always a weight off any travellers mind if for whatever reason the EHIC card is needed.

Sovereignty

Whenever the EU is discussed British sovereignty is always questioned, ‘how can we be British if our laws are governed by Brussels?’ The idea that our laws are created by people who don’t know our way of life as the British seems to be abhorrent to all Brits. The thing we need to ask ourselves is do our actual politicians that we elect actually understand us, for example is your MP a person who was born and raised in your constituency? Many EU laws are written with the greater good of Europe and the world, such as those on climate change and fishing quotas. We have been required to cut carbon emissions because of EU laws to protect the environment, with the added pressure from the EU countries have actually acted to do this and the continent will prosper because of it. One of the most controversial laws is that of fishing quotas, many jobs in the fishing industry were lost because the restrictions meant that people could not catch enough fish to have it as their livelihood. However, fishing quotas were bought in to curb over fishing that damages the ecosystem in the sea, as a planet we rely on the sea for many things and it should be respected.

Britain in the wider world

Britain’s place in the wider world has changed dramatically over the last two centuries, we were a part of the largest empire on the planet until the end of World War II, Britain did indeed rule the waves. However, the idea of empire fell out of favour due to all the bloody uprisings that took place to kick Britain and other European nations out. Today if I for example jumped on a plane and travelled to some far flung corner of the globe, British flag in hand and declared the territory now under British rule, I would probably be locked up for insanity. However, as recently as last century that was seen as a heroic honour (how times change). If we left the EU we wouldn't be able to claim back our old colonies and make Britain ruler of all, we would just be Britain again needing to find our place again without the EU as our greater status.

Conclusions

Britain is not a minor EU country, we have some of the biggest clout in Brussels, yes other countries may not like it when we say no to things but they do actually listen to what we say and that is a power we do have in the EU. For the funds we put into the EU we do get a great deal of benefits, some additional ones include discounted roaming charges when we go abroad than countries outside the EU. Of course the EU is not perfect it is a union of 28 very different sovereign states all of whom have their own priorities, needs and a fair deal from the membership of the EU but together the EU is a united body which helps us with trade, security and gives us financial benefits. By shutting the EU out we are also locking ourselves into the UK and would make it far more difficult to travel on holiday. Surely this should show you that we should remain in the EU.

If you have not already read the second of this blog series on why Britain should leave the EU, please click here. I hope these two blog post help you decide on one of the biggest decisions that Britain will have to make on Europe since it decided to join the EEC in 1973, and voted in the 1975 referendum to stay in the EEC by 67.2% to 32.8% opposed. When you make up your mind please try to avoid propaganda leaflets published by the political groups which represent the in and out campaigns as they are trying to persuade you to agree with them and in the limited space they have will gloss over anything that may put their argument into doubt.