What the Leavers are afraid to tell you: The UK can control its future if it Remains IN.

From Steve Peers, a member of one of the SY2E – Remain in the EU groups.

1)      The UK cannot be required to join an EU army without consent of the UK government, parliament and public;
2)      Treaty amendments require the consent of the UK government and parliament, and (if there’s any transfer of powers) the public;
3)       Accession of new Member States requires the consent of the UK government and parliament; it is a long way off for Turkey in particular and if it ever happens, will be subject to long periods of transition for workers to be admitted;
4)      The UK has a veto on tax issues; the UK government, parliament, and public would have to consent to dropping it;
5)      The UK has an opt-out from EU law on asylum, non-EU migration and criminal law; the UK government and parliament would have to consent to dropping it, and the public would have to agree to join Schengen or the European Public Prosecutor;
6)       The UK has an opt-out from the single currency and other related issues, and could only join after the consent of the UK government, parliament and public;
7)      The UK has a veto over the basic EU budget revenue and spending rules, including the UK budget rebate; the veto could only be dropped with the consent of the UK government, parliament and public.

Of course, there are many other possible criticisms of the European Union. Some may be valid, and some not. But the argument that the UK government could be forced into any of the measures listed above is quite clearly false and scaremongering.

All of the above possible developments are subject to the control of the UK government, and usually our Parliament and the general public besides.

Source: EU Law Analysis: EU Referendum Briefing 1: Can the UK control the EU’s future if it stays a member?

Posted in Rebutal | Tagged

Europe: Project Hope 4 – Let’s be hopeful. Let’s be constructive. Let’s dream a little…

By Hector MacDonald a member of one of the SY2E – Remain in the EU groups.

Let’s be hopeful.  Let’s be constructive.  Let’s dream a little…

 We can make the EU the greatest coalition of sovereign nations ever seen

We’ve achieved seven decades of peace.  Through the EU we can ensure many more.

We’ve rebuilt our own continent.  We can find a way to support the Syrian people through their trauma, while keeping Europe secure against excessive economic migration.

We defeated fascism.  We can stand firm in the face of Russian aggression, Islamic terrorism and political extremism, winning on the strength of the ideals we all share.

We invented the modern industrial world.  We can reignite European creativity and prosperity, built on sustainable technologies and renewable fuels.

We inspired free trade, democracy and the rule of law around the globe.  We can set an example for the rest of the world once again.

Be optimistic.  Be collaborative.  Be European. 

Vote Remain.

The full article is available here on Hugh’s blog

Posted in brexit, EU, Ready, reflections | Tagged , ,

Leavers want personal attacks to stop – Just tell the TRUTH about the UK’s EU membership.

No more lies about sending £350 million a week to Brussels.

No more lies about the EU being able to remove the UK’s rebate.

No more lies about the UK’s ability to veto new members joining the EU.

No more lies about the UK having to join the EURO.

No more lies about the UK being forced into an EU Army.

No more lies about only being able to reduce VAT if the UK leaves the EU.

It is a very simple plan and totally under the control of Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, Nigel Farage, Penny Mordaunt, Kate Hoey, Gisella Stuart, Iain Duncan Smith, Arron Banks et al – NO MORE LIES.

If they start telling the truth, people will stop calling them out and we can all start to debate the principles involved!

Posted in Leavers Lies, Uncategorized | Tagged | 1 Comment

Europe: Project Hope 3 – We must support the EU and its ideals in every way we can

By Hector MacDonald a member of one of the SY2E – Remain in the EU groups.

We must support the EU and its ideals in every way we can

Yes, we should Vote to Remain on 23 June.  We should vote to stay part of a worthy project that has underpinned a golden age of peace and prosperity for Europe.

But we should do more than that.

We should help steer the EU towards the future we desire.

That means talking to other Europeans about what we collectively want from the EU civil servants who work for us and the funds that are disbursed on our behalf.

It means getting to know our MEPs and challenging them to represent us properly and push for reform.

It means campaigning against the ideas we don’t like – whether closer political union or wider geographic expansion – and in favour of the ideas we do like, so that our representatives and civil servants understand what we expect from them.

It means looking for ways to work together on the big issues we all face, such as youth unemployment, refugees, ageing populations, terrorism and climate change.

It means being a good European as well as a great British citizen.

The full article is available here on Hugh’s blog

Posted in brexit, EU, Ready, reflections | Tagged , ,

James Dyson backs a Brexit, but has already moved his production to the Far East

Some years ago James Dyson moved production to the Far East. How much will Brexit affect him?

Posted in brexit | Tagged

Churchill Quotes – Europe, United States of Europe, EU, EEC, Sovereignty


Hard as it is to say now. I look forward to a United States of Europe, in which the barriers between the nations will be greatly minimised and unrestricted travel will be possible.

Winston S. Churchill – Writing to Anthony Eden after El Alamein, 21st October 1942


We are going to liberate Europe, but it is because the Americans are with us. So get this quite clear. Every time we have to decide between Europe and the open sea, it is always the open sea we shall choose. Every time I have to choose between you and Roosevelt, I will always choose Roosevelt.

Churchill in an angry exchange with De Gaulle 1944

D-Day, the Battle for Normandy by Antony Beevor


Our constant aim must be to build and fortify the strength of the United Nations Organisation.

Under and within that world concept, we must re-create the European family in a regional structure called, it may be, the United States of Europe

Winston S. Churchill – Zurich 19th September 1946


The Movement for European Unity must be a positive force, deriving its strength from our sense of common spiritual values. It is a dynamic expression of democratic faith based upon moral conceptions and inspired by a sense of mission.

In the centre of our movement stands the idea of a Charter of Human Rights, guarded by freedom and sustained by law.

It is impossible to separate economics and defence from the general political structure. Mutual aid in the economic field and joint military defence must inevitably be accompanied step by step with a parallel policy of closer political unity.

It is said with truth that this involves some sacrifice or merger of national sovereignty. But it is also possible and not less agreeable to regard it as the gradual assumption by all the nations concerned of that larger sovereignty which can alone protect their diverse and distinctive customs and characteristics and their national traditions all of which under totalitarian systems, whether Nazi, Fascist, or Communist, would certainly be blotted out for ever.

Winston S, Churchill – 7th May 1948


The whole movement of the world is towards an inter-dependence of nations. We feel all around us the belief that it is our best hope. If independent, individual sovereignty is sacrosanot and inviolable, how is it that we are all wedded to a world organisation? It is an ideal to which we must subscribe.

The Conservative and Liberal Parties declare that national sovereignty is not inviolable, and that it may be resolutely diminished for the sake of all the men in all the lands finding their way home together

 Winston S. Churchill – UK Parliament debate 27th June 1950

 

Posted in Churchill, EU | Tagged , , , ,

There is no compensation scheme if you are mis-sold a Brexit.

Financial Advisor Fingers Crossed

Image | Posted on by | Tagged

Europe: Project Hope 2 – The EU’s greatest achievements are under threat

By Hector MacDonald a member of one of the SY2E – Remain in the EU groups.

The EU does not get everything right, and now its greatest achievements are under threat.

Many complaints about the EU are justified.  Its administrators have lost touch with the people they serve.  It has occasionally tried to regulate beyond sensible limits.  Its agricultural policies are wasteful and counterproductive.  The association agreement with Ukraine may have contributed to that nation’s civil war.  These are the understandable mistakes of a large and evolving organisation that is still learning its place in the world.  They are not systemic faults.  The EU needs experienced and pragmatic countries like the UK to help it avoid and overcome these mistakes.

More seriously, the EU is now facing some of the toughest challenges it has ever encountered.  The euro seems to have been a grave error for several member states.  Youth unemployment is dangerously high.  Greece remains in a critical condition.  Hundreds of thousands of migrants are testing not only the EU’s external borders but its internal solidarity.  Russia is threatening the stability of the whole region and challenging EU and NATO unity.  Extremist political parties are gaining support.

Consequently the European Union is, for the first time in its history, at risk of fragmentation and even collapse.  Not only would this mean economic recession for the whole continent, bringing mass unemployment and widespread suffering, but it would also reverse the gains made in the ideals we all share.  The rule of law, democracy, scientific progress, freedom – all would be diminished if the walls go up and the extremists take over.

The fastest way to precipitate such a fragmentation would be for Britain to leave the EU.

We are the straw that could break the camel’s back.

We are the catalyst for a new dark age.

The full article is available here on Hugh’s blog

Posted in 1975, EU, Ready, reflections | Tagged , ,

Europe: Project Hope 1 – The European Union is built on a set of ideals that we all value

By Hector MacDonald a member of one of the SY2E – Remain in the EU groups.

The European Union is built on a set of ideals that we all value

What matters to Europeans?  The rule of law.  Freedom of expression. Property rights.  Democracy.  The opportunity to build profitable enterprises.  Freedom of the Press.  The right to live with security and dignity.  A safe, clean environment.  Humane treatment of animals.  Scientific progress.  Freedom of belief.  Freedom.

Though other parts of the world share some of these ideals, the EU has been tireless in promoting them across our continent and beyond.  It has given Germany a different path to follow that has transformed it from warmonger to model world citizen.  It has linked Western Europe in a shared progress of economic development and prosperity that has kept the once belligerent region at peace for 70 years.  So important is this set of ideals that most of the former Soviet Bloc countries of central and eastern Europe have now embraced them.  The EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its great contribution to European stability and democracy.

In Britain, we tend to see the negative side of these ideals: the administrative burden of legislation that keeps our air clean and protects our employment rights; the foreigners in our cities, who come to Britain because they share our love of freedom to travel and work; the loss of sovereignty that comes from agreeing to support each other and abide by shared rules, many of which British experts drafted.

We forget that while we may lose a little control over our own affairs, we gain new control over the rest of Europe.  We have a say on the treatment of orphans in Romania, on the regulation of banks in Italy, on the safety standards of nuclear power stations in Poland, on the laws governing journalists in Hungary.  Our influence now extends further than at any time since the dissolution of the British Empire.

Shared European ideals are making all of Europe safer, kinder, stronger, better.

The full article is available here on Hugh’s blog

Posted in brexit, EU, Ready, reflections | Tagged , ,