With UKIP councilors being voted in in huge
numbers across the country, creeping up like weeds through political cracks in
our cutback concrete roads, without warning poking their hay-fever (more like depression and anxiety) inducing heads up in the media
and Nigel Farage declaring that “UKIP is here to stay” (apparently there isn’t
any herbicide that can dampen his determination- damn it.), it isn’t surprising that
suddenly our position in the EU has gone from feeling slightly unsteady to damn
right precarious.
And it’s not just UKIP that’s nudging us
off the EU cliff either; the conservatives are looking to jump off the precipice
just a few years from now and Lord Lawson seems equally set on us leaving the
single market because he reckons that it will open us up for more trade with
the rest of the world without damaging our trading relationship with the rest
of the EU. Oh Lord, how I beg to differ!
Not only has the EU ensured that we have
had stable trade for some years but also provides us with opportunities to
enrich our ethnically and culturally diverse society. EU laws and requirements
allow for consumer protection and safety, free health care when abroad in the
EU, price guarantees and regulations on things like energy and telecom
connections… it allows us to have utterly free movement from one EU country to
another which in turn grants UK businesses the ability to hire employees with
the most beneficial and appropriate skill set to boost efficiency… The EU gives
us a safety net both financially and personally (and, if we’re honest, we need
as many supports and safety nets to bolster our country as possible). It's all looking pretty peachy isn't it?
So as we teeter on the edge of the EU
cliff, feet skidding on the slippery referendum rocks below, peering over the
edge desperately trying to see what lurks in the abyss, I warn you that all I
can see is a vertical plummet into the murky depths of financial instability,
reduced trade and travel, a greater homogenised society and less insight and
input into European (and global) affairs. I really hope that we don’t take the
leap or get shoved in the back by Farage, Cameron and Lawson. I hope that we
stop floundering. I hope that we turn around, stare the euro skeptics in the
face and say “nein, danke.”*
*or alternatively: "(insert 'no, thank you' in all 23 official languages of the european union)"
previous blog post on EU referendum
Tip: just ermmm stating the obvious- don't vote UKIP (or any other prejudiced, anti-EU party, for that matter). Yay!
Tip: just ermmm stating the obvious- don't vote UKIP (or any other prejudiced, anti-EU party, for that matter). Yay!
