UK Members.. How Would You Vote In a EU Referendum and Why?

The reason im asking as I wish to debate both sides of the arguement before I make my own final decision if/when we get the vote on it.

At the moment I see no other recourse but to leave as we cannot afford it and I am personally bitter about our soveriegnty being usurped, and allowed to do so by an EU wide cadre of political elite only in it to feather their own nests.

Politically, i would withdraw, rehash parliament using the Swedish model of governance which is more like real democracy than the veritable dictatorship we have now.

That is how I currently stand, but am still open to change my mind.

What are your views?

Membership of the EU is a breach of our human rights - since we cannot be forced to join any Association against our will and no-one has been asked if they want to join the EU. Yes, we voted to stay in the Common Market, but that is all.

The EU costs us money, restricts our democracy and offers us nothing in return.

We have little in common with European nations, and certainly nothing compared with some rather larger nations scattered all around the world.

So I would vote to leave the EU. Whether we could rebuild the global Commonwealth as we should have done 40 years ago is another matter.

I really dont see how its good for us, especially when we are paying through the nose propping up other countries.

So Id want to leave and go back to how it was, it can be done as we still have our own currency.

To be honest I do not believe there is any reason for a discussion about staying or leaving the EU but rather a long list of the things the UK accept, the things the UK abstain from and the reasons why.

Time and time again when I am looking at employement law it seems the UK sign up to anything that benifits the bosses and bankers yet always seem to not adopt anything that benifits the worker or citizen.

Our EU politicians complain of corruption and yet play a big part in it. See the EU pension blackhole and how many UK politicians voted against a hike in their subscrptions to fill it as just one example.

Like hanging the EU debate is only meant to distract. Your/our views are not required or listened too and we will have no say in any decission.

I don't know enough about the finances to know if we are putting in a lot more than we get out. But what I object to is the way we are increasingly under the Brussels thumb. It's a loss of sovereignty. Plus I believe even the MEPs have no real say on measures which affect us. So it is also a loss of democracy.
Switzerland is not a member despite being in the middle of Europe and they haven't suffered. Good on them.
It was initially touted as a simple trade agreement. Yeah right... Plus we have been lied to by successive governments who promised us a referendum. I vote out. But don't hold your breath that we will ever get the chance.

How much does it cost us each year, think i heard it was around £4billion, correct if i am wrong. But what do we get in return, yes the EU has funded regeneration in the poorer areas like the north of england (my home town included) but i believe that would have happened anyway.

They have also given us a load of new laws and red tape that restricts alot of things we do and opened our borders to practically everyone from Mainland Europe to walk into our country for however long they want. They say we can do the same, but why would we want to?

We are a completely different nation to the rest of Europe.

Also, we happened to be planting money into a currency we don't use and none of our population really care or want anything to do with.

I believe the time has come to get back to being the UK and not part of the Shambles Society

VOTE OUT (yeah, like we will ever get a referendum!)

Check out this anti EU site.
www.acasefortreason.org.uk...

Get us out soon as possible. All it takes is a leader with the gonads to say no, something which we are sadly lacking.
Follow it up with repealing just about every sphere of influence or law introduced by the Euro crowd, an immediate halt to all immigration and demand a refund on what we have put int the Eurozone and want back.

How can anything else even be considered? Look where this globalisation drive has taken us to thus far!

The way things are going though, I don't think it'll be too long before the EU falls apart completely... so best to get the hell out now before it can damage us any further.

Our MP's can not be trusted let alone the MEP's! The EU costs us a stupid amount of money, I'm all for helping other countries out n' that but we need to sort ours out first. Also a lot of the money wee give the EU is mis spent on luxiouries for the MEP's and the EU seems to really not like the UK as a member and like to make our lives difficult. I don't think most people want it, but I bet we are guna have little choice, just look at what happeed with Ireland!

I currently live in the UK but I'm from Switzerland and still own a Swiss passport. I was never a fan of the EU, thank god switzerland didnt joint, although we've had a few VERY close calls in the votes!

I think the Euro should be disolved again. I'm no expert on finances on that scale but I'm pretty sure if everyone went back to their own currency then the risks and depression would hit each country by itself, instead of one country dragging down a whole damn continent!

Dont know if that makes 100% sense but nonetheless everyone should go back to their respective currencies.

To be honest I think the EU countries should have a relationship likewise to the relationship Switzerland has to the EU with the bilateral agreements. Easier trade, easier travel etc but when it comes to laws and governing the country DO IT YOURSELF! Look after your own people, look after your own country!

personally this Irish Drinking Song (NSFW) sum's up what i think of them

gotta get out of europe before we all get shafted

I would vote no due to the fact that no one wants to be in the EU,it costs us an arm and a leg to be in it and it means we will be ruled by Brussels where some of the most ridiculous laws have come out of recently.
The EU is nothing more then Hitler's idealogy anyway.

reply to post by EvanB


I would vote to stay out of Europe, don't get me wrong i'm not anti Europe, it's just that we are too diverse to be brought together.

As we are witnessing, economic union is practically impossible, Greece needs to get out of the Euro and return to it's own currency before it's too late and it becomes a part of Germany.

I think where we are right now is close enough, we have economic ties but we also have currency independence and it's that currency independence that is vital, it gives us the options to inflate,deflate and devalue at will.

It's pretty clear to us all isn't it in the current circumstances, how not joining the Euro was a wise move.

The Euro was created by France and Germany mainly to serve France and Germany.

That's the economic side of things, now lets turn to the political.

I am absolutely dead set against any further political union, Politically this union is not democratic, it seems to be a soviet union with unelected people dictating to others, well screw that buddy, two world wars just to sleep walk into the very thing we were fighting against, i don't think so.

We are a sovereign state, we shall remain so as current events will prove the wisdom of looking after our own affairs far better than any speech from a soapbox.

Right now Europe needs us more than we need it, a clear sign that really Europe is not ready to be unified.

And ultimately, looking at history, its France and Germany that need unification to avoid conflict.

Now if Russia's offer of creating a Eurasian union were to be looked at seriously then maybe i would reconsider my choices, but a Franco-German Europe ? no thanks.

Cosmic...

reply to post by Swizzy


Have to agree, thats is how the EU should be run, how the EEA (i think thats the right term for Switzerlands arrangement?), just open trade routes and easy travel. I have never been to Switzerland but i have been to Norway, which is in the same boat as Switzerland, and have very good friends there and it is a great place to be right now

Also, is it just me that thinks the Euro has taken all the fun out of travelling? I used to love coming home with foreign coins when i was younger, now i just come back with a few cents and a Euro, boring!

reply to post by Cosmic4life


Fantastic post! Every sentence i was nodding along with.

For me the Euro made no difference at all, I lived in switzerland, spain and the UK and each have a different currency

Like someone else said its ridiculous that so many countries use the Euro when there is only really 2-3 countries that are actually the backbone of the currency. Let france and germay keep it if they want to but I want nothing to do with it.

I am glad to say if it gets worse I have a spot in my beloved little country, albeit being in the middle of all the turmoil

I don't see how it could be so bad to return to the old curriencies and just have good diplomatic relations with everyone...Like someone else said, there are too many different ideologies, traditions and mentalities to cover under one european body of law.

Everytime a country joins billions are pumped into it to "bring it up to EU standard" only to be destroyed by the very same thing. Traditions are very important to me and I think the EU destroyed that a bit because everyone is put into the same "box" if you will. It simply doesn't work. Similar to the north american union, I dont think that is a good idea at all.

This is were my swiss mentality comes in. Stick to yourself, solve your own problems. That doesn't mean you can't have a good relationship with other countries. We've done it for decades and so have a few other countries like Sweden.

reply to post by Essan


Absolute tosh. 2/3 of our daily trade is with EU member states. Why would you want to damage relations with your biggest trading partners? The EU is no different to the US (collection of states banding together).

Now, if you are talking about the Euro then i would stay well clear (including its successor) as current global issues demonstrate beyond doubt that the ability to manipulate your own money markets is vitally important in any economic downturn. Plus, i am also a massively patriotic British person.

However, member ship of a collection of nations is a good thing. Ignore most of the EU drivel that you read in the papers, it is simply not true or at best massively misrepresented. This also occurs in every other major member state (ie German papers also have silly stories like eu wants us to ban bendy bananas, etc).

The main problem with eu membership is the negative impact of the application of the human rights laws. 2 of my former uni professors were involved in helping to draw up draft copies of this act and i know for a fact that the actual thought process behind it is for very humanitarian and altruistic reasons. Sadly, in practice, this has led to some terrible practical applications of this act, and therein lies the problem. As with many academic works over the years, the theory is fine but the practical is totally different.

What do you think will happen to the EU if/when the euro falls on its arse?

I would vote "no" to the Union, nor do I feel we should be tied at the hip to other nations like the US.

The EU is going to try to be a global power and will in time be vying for the position of top dog.. We (Britain that is) have been caught up in those game since the time of Constantine the Great and to be honest it's about time we really made an effort to keep out of those games and sort ourselves out.

I have a hope there is still time/space to carry on the task of building the Commonwealth into something special and since it is made up of the worlds poorest nations I think it about time we use our skills and capabilities to lift those nations out of the poverty trap they are in.

Given that we would get valuable industry and skills in return as well as decent trading partners I honestly do not see the need to continue to rape them of there resources.. lets be an ethical nation for a change.

I think this would certainly be a task that would not only keep the nation busy, but also a task we could be really proud of.. which is something I see lacking in todays society.

I would vote no.

#1 It is undemocratic cabal.

#2 It cost us £40 million a day (allegedly) to be a member.

#3 It was originally suppose to be just about trade, now they are making our laws.

#4 It is one step towards a one world government, or a new world order, which ever you prefer.