A general election has been scheduled in the UK for December 12 2019. As expected, the voting public is being deluged with both information and misinformation-mostly the latter- in the form of speeches, newspaper and journal articles, radio and television debates and interviews, leaflets and pamphlets, and party manifestos. The major parties have put forward exceedingly ambitious plans of spending on the NHS, education, policing and the armed forces-all issues that greatly concern the public. The specific issue that, however, is overshadowing all others is Brexit, with the major political parties all having taken different positions on the matter. The election may indeed turn out to be nothing more than a second Brexit referendum. The following information has been compiled for the benefit of all those who are still undecided, given that many have already made up their minds.
Reasons favouring Brexit:
The United Kingdom is an island nation, with a proud history and traditions, in a “special relationship” with the United States, and possessing stronger affinities with its previous Empire, aka the British Commonwealth, than with Europe. These views appear to have been held by the French President Charles de Gaulle, who vetoed British entry to the European Economic Community (EEC), the predecessor of the European Union (EU), in 1963 and 1967.
The UK pays the EU around £13 billion a year in membership fees, after a rebate. This amounts to a net contribution of £8.5 billion, after accounting for all that is received back from the EU. This is not “value for money.”
The EU Customs Union has surrounded the UK with a protectionist wall of tariffs and other barriers to free trade with the rest of the world. This prevents the UK from setting up its own trade deals with emerging countries. Successful European countries, such as Norway and Switzerland, have negotiated their own trade deals with the EU. EU protectionism has led to the widely unpopular Common Agricultural and Fisheries Policies.
Free movement between the UK and the rest of the EU has led to increased immigration. EU migrants, with an automatic right to live in the UK, may lack the language and job skills necessary for meaningful employment in the UK, may be prepared to work for lower wages, and may add to the strain on public services (health, welfare, housing, and education). The European migrant crisis may disadvantage the UK because of poor border controls in other EU countries.
The national and parliamentary sovereignty of the UK have been undermined by membership of the EU. EU laws override British laws in such areas as agriculture, competition policy, and copyright and patent law. European Court of Justice rulings supersede those made by the UK Supreme Court. The unelected European Commission is not accountable to the British government.
The EU is demonstrating ” creeping federalisation,” which includes a shared flag, national anthem, and passport, along with a written constitution (as opposed to the flexibility of the British constitution) and the promise of a federal army.
Reasons favouring Remain:
The United Kingdom is an island nation, whose geographical proximity and colourful history make it an integral part of Europe. Successive bands of Angles, Saxons, Danes, Vikings, Normans, Huguenots and other Europeans have colonised the nation. Even the British Royal family has Germanic roots. The chalky sea cliffs of Kent and northern France are geologically one and the same.
Membership of the EU allows the UK preferential trade access to the rest of the world, due to the larger size and enhanced bargaining power of the EU as a collective entity. The EU takes about half of British exports. The UK is the third largest export market for Germany. Supply chains for food and medicines (human and animal) are likely to be disrupted following Brexit, in addition to the higher costs of imported goods. About ten thousand containers of food arrive in the UK every day from the EU. Of the 12,300 medicines currently licensed for use in the UK, around 7,000 come to the UK from or through the EU.
EU migrants make a positive contribution to the British economy, especially in the services sector, provide seasonal agricultural labour, and work in hotels, restaurants, care homes and hospitals. Skilled migrants work as doctors and nurses in the NHS and are engaged in academic science. EU migrants are mostly young, in employment, and pay their due taxes.
Some loss of sovereignty is an acceptable price to pay in return for benefiting from the EU’s citizens’ rights and labour standards, food safety standards, consumer protection standards, environmental protection (including the fight against global climate change) standards, and anti-trust legislation to ensure that global companies pay their rightful share of corporation tax. The EU plays an important role in the fight against international crime (as, for example, through the European Arrest Warrant and the sharing of counterterrorism intelligence). The UK will lose its membership of such EU institutions as the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the European Food Standards Authority (EFSA) and Europol.
Leaving the EU will cause an economic shock and may lead to a contracted economy and even to recession. There will be a net loss of UK jobs, especially those linked to the EU.
London may become less attractive as a global financial hub when it loses its status as a gateway to the EU. This may lead to a capital flight away from the capital, as international banks move their assets elsewhere.
UK citizens may require visas to travel to the EU, whether to holiday, work or study (on the Erasmus programme). They will lose the benefits of health insurance (EHIC cards), lower credit card fees and lower roaming charges for mobile phone usage. British expatriates settled in the EU may find it more difficult to access health care and public services.
Summary
Given the potential ramifications of Brexit, and the different ways in which different groups of people may be affected by the process, it is up to individuals to make a choice based on the available facts rather than on the basis of emotional sensitivities and tribal loyalties.
Ashis Banerjee (neutral for the purposes of this article)