Remain EU

The case for remain has another fellow lawyer who has made an impassioned expression of her views on Facebook.

I can’t quite get my head around the fact that we very shortly may not be part of the #EU. I hope that I am wrong. I hope that the people of the UK make the correct decision and vote to #Remain. The EU has (if not been wholly responsible for), helped significantly in maintaining dialogue between European nations which undoubtedly has contributed to the 60 years of peace we have enjoyed. The EU has protected many #rights for workers (equal pay, safety at work, holiday pay, sick pay to name but a few), mothers, fathers, holiday makers, black people, brown people, LGBT people, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Jews, Hindus to name a few protected by the anti-discrimination laws. This is not to say the UK gave people no rights prior to membership of the EU, but the EU has given UK citizens more comprehensive rights in many aspects of daily life and more quickly than the UK government would have as they were obliged to ratify legislation agreed on by members of the EU within certain timescales.

What would the EU get out of giving us more rights and freedoms?

What would the EU get out of giving us more rights and freedoms? A big fat nothing. The EU has no other agenda. It is not a country or political party pushing its own views, it is literally a safeguard for us, against the laws and regulations put in place by our politicians, which are not always in our best interests. It acts as a check and balance against the behaviour of our government and all European Union governments.  I love how the Leave campaign have tried to paint our politicians and our country in this fabulously fuzzy, nostalgic and slightly air-brushed light. We believe in the UK! We believe we can do it alone! We don’t need Brussels telling us what to do! We want our elected officials making the decisions! We trust the government we vote in to protect our rights! We don’t need EU for that. Your elected officials, the leaders of the three main political parties in the UK, are ALL telling you to vote remain. If you trust them, then follow their advice!

Do not think for one second that leaving the EU will give you more rights or that the rights you have will be protected. Governments are notoriously slow and slippery when it comes to giving people what they are entitled to and are quick to take rights away where they can to make their work easier. Sure there may be a little less ‘red tape’, which is fine whilst things are running smoothly, but the second you have a dispute with your employer, you will wish all that red tape was there cushioning your fall.

Remain EU Regulations

Regulations are there for a reason – to protect us! With regards to #immigration, let’s get a few things clear here. Firstly, the freedom of movement allows us to move freely within the EU, for holidays, work, leisure etc without the need to apply for a visa. In just the same way, people from the EU are allowed to come here for holidays or for work etc. So, leaving the EU will not mean Johnny European cannot come over to the UK to work, but it will be harder for him. He may need to show that he has a job offer or apply for a visa or show certain savings. I am speculating here but just trying to illustrate the point. If jobs are unfilled by the UK workforce foreigners will still come over to the UK to do those jobs that we don’t want to.

This is not foreigners taking your jobs but foreigners doing the jobs that keep this country going BECAUSE YOU CAN’T OR DON’T WANT TO. Secondly, as the Leave panel on the BBC debate stated, if we put a stop to free movement of workers within the EU, this would mean workers from other parts of the world (India, Thailand, Pakistan, Malaysia, Uganda for example) would have a better chance of getting a job and coming over to the UK. In fact a Leave panellist (Gisela I believe) stated that it was unfair that we currently discriminate against non-EU migrants and leaving the EU would allow more non-EU migrants to enter the UK which would be fairer! That’s right, leaving the EU will not mean a ban on immigration or even, lower levels of immigration, but perhaps higher levels of net migration of non-EU workers. More of those brown people that could easily be confused for a refugee/Muslim/asylum seeker/terrorist (they are one and the same anyway), I jest.

I do realise that not all Leave supporters are racist or xenophobic but judging by some of the horrendous things I have read, many are. The rest of you are, unfortunately, simply misguided. Anyhow, back to immigration. Immigration for study or work purposes is different to migration for asylum and refugee status. The former is out of choice usually to better your standard of living. The latter is when you leave your country with little more than the clothes on your back and your ID documents (if they have not been destroyed by bombs in your war-torn homeland) to seek refuge/shelter/help within a safe country, for instance the UK or Canada or Spain or France (we are not the only ones that take in refugees)!

Whether or not we are part of the EU, we have obligations under the Geneva Convention to take some people fleeing such persecution. Whether or not we are part of the EU, there will be people that come here to claim asylum and in some cases we will accept them as refugees. This has nothing to do with the free movement of people within the EU. Therefore it should have no bearing on your vote.

Finally on the matter of immigration, #Turkey. Again this is blatant scaremongering on the part of Camp Leave. Turkey has to fulfil many, many, conditions before it is eligible for EU membership – which is not happening anytime soon. And, even if it were, we, the UK, have a veto. This means even if all the other EU member states vote in favour of Turkish accession to the EU, the UK can simply vote NO and prevent Turkey joining the EU, if we so choose. We have all the power in our hands with regards to Turkey joining the EU, whilst we Remain of course! So, to clarify, Turkey is not “set to join the EU”. That is simply BS.

With regards to the economy, our jobs, our income, we all know (both Leave and Remain, all the experts in the field, even the bookies know), leaving the EU will create uncertainty in the economy, will lead to job losses and you will most likely have less money in your pocket. It is a humongous #gamble leaving the EU, and experts have also warned that it may lead to another credit crunch. This is not scare tactics, just facts. If you are happy to take a risk with yours and my livelihood because you think migrants are queueing up at the Channel to enter the UK, go ahead. Just be warned of the consequences of your actions.

One final(ish) point I would like to make. People often talk about the unelected Eurocrats that make decisions in Brussels that affect us in the UK. Occasionally, the EU does pass legislation that each member state has to abide by. But the majority of our laws are made by our elected parliament then approved (or not) by a house of unelected Lords. I suppose those of you with a problem with the unelected Eurocrats have a problem with the unelected Lords too. Shall we abolish the House of Lords also?

Following on from the last point, there has been much use of the phrase “taking back control”. Please be clear, you will have no more control over decisions made on your behalf if you vote Leave. The Tories, or the next elected government, will have more powers to pass THEIR legislations. They will not be giving Leave supporters any more control than they have now. They will simply use THEIR EXTRA CONTROL to further their own agendas. If you want control, every single one of you ought to use your vote today and in any future elections. It’s a bit rich for people who have never voted to say they want to take back control, they want to vote for their decision makers via a democratic process, unlike the European politicians who are unelected!

Childish comments made by the Leave panel on the BBC Debate included assertions that none of us would know the names of the presidents of the EU. Well I didn’t know your name #GiselaStuart nor yours #AndreaLeadsom. Does that make your points any less valid or the job you do any less worthwhile? Most people will not know the names of the “elected officials” (who you seemed to put on a pedestal) that they voted in to the UK parliament. Again, this should not be the measure used to assess a person’s worth as a politician. These points made by Leave were clutching at straws as their arguments continued to fail them. The major world leaders are advising us to #Remain. The experts are advising us to #Remain. Business leaders are advising us to #Remain.

All major parties in the UK are advising us to #Remain. Are you seriously more clever and wise, and able to forecast what will happen better than all of the aforementioned?? Please, please, reconsider your Leave vote and switch to #Remain. It is a massive, massive, decision and massive responsibility. Once we leave, we lose all our privileges including our vital veto. It will be a very long, difficult road back if we ever choose to return. If you are unsure, vote #Remain as the option is always there in the near future to leave if we want. There is no compulsion to stay if and when we no longer want to. But right now, the gamble is not at all worth it.

#Voteremain #Remain #imin #IN #campaignremain #lovenotleave #useyourvote #themostimportantvoteofourlives #Peace. #REMAIN