The EU Referendum: Vote Remain 23/06/16

I have done mountains of research about this question. I have read everything there is to read about this subject and was looking forward to writing an epic refutation of everything the Brexiteers have said. But now it comes to it, I have not the time, energy, or inclination to go as deep into this as I initially intended. So I am going to do this instead:

•   Shit on the major Brexit arguments, namely law, sovereignty and immigration

• Explain why the lack of reliable information in this tiresome campaign means it is logical to vote Remain.

I am going to fulfil the above bullet points without referencing any damned politician or economic think-tank. This is about what I know to be true and what makes sense to me. So here goes...

·         LAW  - ‘Too many of Britain’s laws are made overseas by dictates passed down from Brussels and rulings upheld by the European Court of Justice. UK courts must become sovereign again.’

The Brexiteers seems to think that laws are ‘dictated’ to us by unelected bureaucrats in Brussels. This gives the impression that during the entire process of enacting new laws, the people of Europe have no say. This is a factual skid-stain. If anybody cared to look, they would see that no new law can be enacted unless the European Parliament votes for it. Yes, there is a Parliament in there somewhere, and the seats are distributed per country based on their population size. Therefore, British MEP form the third largest contingent in the European Parliament. Furthermore, those British seats are voted on via proportional representation which is more democratic than the system we have for General Elections i.e. First Past the Post. The fact is we are represented in the EU and our representatives vote on everything that affects us and Europe.

                Secondly, the European Court of Justice, like the Council of Ministers, has a representative from each member state so it’s not like any ‘diktats’ don’t have a British hand on them.

                Thirdly, these people superseding UK Courts are judges. JUDGES. They are not tyrants, they are unbiased executors of European Law upon which British and European MEP voted on.

                And lastly, who really cares? Is the preponderance of local courts that important to you? Is the notion of living with (as you have been doing) European laws so terrifying? Nations worthy of the name already abide by numerous international laws, so what’s so repellent about European ones which our representatives voted on? Is it really worth leaving the EU over some law that displeases you personally? In my view, it aint. 

·         SOVEREIGNTY -  ‘The British Parliament is no longer sovereign. With the EU hell-bent on “ever closer union” and further economic integration likely after the euro crisis, it is best to call it quits before ties deepen.’

Again, more laughable nonsense. The Brexiteers feed on ignorance so listen up. A few years ago our very own, supposedly redundant Westminster Parliament, enacted the European Union Act 2011. This Act means that any further ‘losses’ of sovereignty to the EU must be confirmed via a referendum. Like the one on Thursday. And given that the people of Britain will certainly vote to stop any loss of sovereignty, we need never worry about losses of sovereignty ever again. When it comes to politics, there is no way the European Parliament (of which we are part) could ever force us to do anything. They would be foolish to try.

                Oh and how is our own Parliament not sovereign when it has given us the opportunity to vote on our membership of the EU? Is some EU institution going to stop us leaving if that be our will? No, so forget about vacuous issues about bloody sovereignty.

·         IMMIGRATION – ‘Britain can never control immigration until it leaves the European Union, because freedom of movement gives other EU citizens an automatic right to live here.’

We could have controlled immigration from Eastern Europe when they joined up, except the memorable Mr Blair decided against using transitional immigration controls which other European countries did. We didn’t bother to employ existing EU-legitimate immigration controls when we had the chance. Because of that, and because the British economy is doing relatively well (while inside the EU) people naturally want to come here.

Who can blame them? Our civil services e.g. policing are relatively uncorrupted by for example, Russian standards; our healthcare is delivered free at the point of usage, every child goes to school till at least they’re 18 and the climate is basically temperate. People here go to work in the knowledge they are going to get paid. We don’t generally live in fear for our lives. We eat, drink, and be merry. Some of us are able to worry more about football than the economic future of our country.

The pressure on our public services, (which many EU migrants work in and pay for) is not based on overwhelming numbers of immigrants injuring themselves and copulating furiously. It’s based on the relative weakness of our economy which can’t pay for the required expansion. Or this government has not chosen to spend enough – whatever take makes sense to you. It’s about us, not them.

But if you insist that it is about them, then answer me this: Are you going to vote to leave the EU because there are too many Poles in that house down Stuart Road? Are you going to leave because you’re afraid of a bunch of Muslims coming over? Remind yourself that there are no Muslim countries in the EU, and that there is no likelihood of such a thing in our lifetimes.

If we in the Western World regard ourselves as particularly blessed, then we should remember that our populations have always been the product of immigration. In these islands we have had Romans come over, then Scandinavian Vikings, Angles, Saxons and Jutes from northern Germany, Normans from Normandy, Indians of all sects from the old Raj, and Africans from the old Empire. Why not a few Poles too? Why deny them what we take for granted?  

• Because we are having a tough time maintaining public services? Don’t be selfish.

• Because they are superficially different? Don’t be racist.

And finally, let me explain why it is just plain common sense to vote Remain. 

People have rightly complained that they have not been given enough accurate information upon which to make an informed decision. This is a reassuring trend because it means people do care about this issue and understand that it is likely to be the biggest decision this country will face for generations. 

The awkward thing is this: There are no facts to be had. 

Leaving the EU is a totally unprecedented event. Given that Britain is doing much better than our EU colleagues, it is somewhat ironic that we are the first to risk exit. So what is a politically sensible person meant to think when there are no points of reference? How are we supposed to think about this portentous issue and make the right decision for Britain when any information we are fed has to be taken with discerning scepticism if not outright disbelief?

Logic provides us with two options:

1.  Abstain – If you have no idea what is best then you had better avoid the booths altogether. This is not a time for guesswork for God’s Sake. 
2. Vote In – If you are unsure of what is best but are determined to vote then support the status quo.Since we are in the EU, and have been for some time, the onus in this campaign is for the Leave side to convince you theirs is the best course of action. If they have not done that, if you are not certain that leaving the EU is obviously best, than you cannot in good conscience take that gamble with this country’s future.

How can anybody be convinced to leave based on a few months of increasingly outrageous invective and wild speculation? Let’s Vote to Remain now, let’s give the issue proper thought in the future, let’s try to make things better for everyone in the EU, and if it nevertheless becomes evident that leaving the EU is wisest for us, than let’s put it to another vote. 

Our colleagues in the EU have had a tendency to take chances because they believed in something greater than themselves. They believed in something greater than any one nation state. It led them to create a single currency. It led them to let the economically weaker Mediterranean countries join. They told themselves that despite the risks, they would make it work...

Doesn’t that sound like the Brexiteers? Aren’t they the ones who have this fantastical vision of Britain outside the EU, cruising alone into a new Golden Age of patriotic sovereignty and trade agreements? Aren’t they the ones saying fuck the torpedoes; we’ll make it work somehow?

To put it mildly, I say no thanks to their fantasies. I’m not buying it. Vote Remain.