For years I have campaigned for an EU Referendum. I have rebelled in Parliament, stood up to colleagues and demanded the chance for Britain to have its say.
The campaign thus far has been thoroughly depressing. Both sides seemingly making it up as they go along, resorting to increasingly spurious claims and scare tactics. Despite this I have made up my mind and for me there are 3 important points that underpin this.
Firstly, the Economy. Britain has the 5th largest economy in the world and is the EU’s single biggest export market. As MEP Dan Hannan points out, Britain exports tea to China, naan bread to India and kayaks to the Inuit. We have also created more jobs in the past five years than the other 27 EU states put together.
The Remain campaign claims that the economic drawbridge would be drawn up. They claim that Germany, France and every other EU state could cease trading with us - despite the UK being their biggest customer. This is nonsense. There is no way that EU states would want to stop free-trade that is loaded in their favour. Campaigners in the past warned that there would be economic meltdown if we didn’t join the Euro – that didn’t happen! Ultimately, the UK would continue to trade with the EU whilst enjoying the freedom to take advantage of the growing worldwide economies too.
Secondly, immigration. Our economy needs immigration: we have an ageing population and we have a skills gap fuelled by record levels of employment. Few people would dispute this, however Remain insist it is all or nothing when it comes to immigration. Rubbish. It is common sense to have controls, to plan, to strike a fair balance on what our economy needs and what our public services can support (schools, GP’s, hospitals etc).
Finally, we need to remember the core principle of democracy. Much has been made of how few people can name the 5 Presidents of the EU (excessive!), but how many could actually name our elected MEPs? This isn’t democracy, they are not properly accountable – it is the establishment and rightly people are demanding change. I also believe that our own elected Parliament should always be sovereign.
I have always maintained that my gut instinct was to Vote Leave. Nobody can predict the future. But do not allow anybody to persuade you that Britain would not be able to go it alone – we are Great Britain. I personally do not want to give more power and money to the EU. This is our one and only chance to take back control and prosper in our own right.
