21. The Brexit lies won’t win the day
The spread of misinformation and fear has to end. People in the ‘In’ camp often make out that it’s the
rebellious Conservative Party driving the move to leave the EU. “Look at the people who are voting to
leave and ask yourself: do I align myself with people of those values?” was a recent conversation I
overheard – the inference, of course, was that it’s only ‘nasty Tories’ who want out of the EU.
However, according to the most recent figures, 49% of all Conservative MPs – including the Prime
Minister – are campaigning for Britain to stay in the EU, with 42% on the leave side and the remainder
undecided. The question facing Britain is hugely significant and usual party politics should not come into
it, hence why the Leave campaign is cross-party and those on the other side of the divide are attempting
to unite in similar fashion.
We’ve heard ludicrous claims about Brexit from those behind #ProjectFear such as the joint letter from
198 business leaders to The Times newspaper which stated: “We can assure you that if the British
people are foolish enough to leave the EU, there will soon be no British industry left and you will be
unemployed, starving and begging our friends in Brussels to let you back in” Have you ever heard a more
ridiculous threat from supposedly serious businesspeople? The ‘In’ campaign is divisive and
counter-productive with even SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon warning Cameron about fighting a “miserable,
negative, fear-based” referendum campaign. Show these people that hope and positivity, rather than
fear, will win the day.
22. EU rules discriminate against
immigrants
The EU’s free movement of people policy is
often hailed as a positive by Europhiles but
it actually unfairly stops talented
immigrants coming to the UK from outside
Europe. Under free movement, an
unlimited number of Poles and Hungarians
are free to move to the UK, which has led
the Government to tighten requirements
on people from non-EU countries.
Conservative MEP Syed Kamall, chairman of the third largest group in the EU Parliament and a
second-generation immigrant himself, said the current system created “inequality”. “I’ve always wanted
a fair immigration policy, where people are treated equally whether they are from an EU country or
elsewhere,” he said. “People should be treated equally whether they are from Austria or Australia, from
Croatia or the Caribbean, from India or Italy. Sadly, that’s not possible within the EU.”
23. Democracy will be strengthened
Leaving the EU will make our government more, not less, accountable to the people of this country,
strengthening democracy in the process. Don’t like the current government? You have the power to
vote them out. Between 2009 and 2015, the UK found itself in the losing minority on EU Parliament
decisions more than any other member state. The UK’s views were dismissed more than 12% of the
time, compared to the second most ignored countries Germany and Austria on little over 5%.
27 cross-party reasons to Leave the EU | @DavidSeadon