Elections in the United States have been the main dish for both tabloids and news media as of late, but the United Kingdom is engaging into a massively important electoral process this Thursday.
The British will get to the voting cab to decide if they want their nation to remain part of the European Union (EU) in one of the most important referendums the country has held. The country has been part of the organization since 1973, and it has benefited dearly from the alliance. However, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) has brought to the table the option of leaving the EU.
There are lots of reasons to stay in the EU
The European Union is an organization established quickly after the World War II. For obvious reasons, the leaders of the world back then did not want the continent to fall into the chaos that armed conflicts represent again, so they wanted to reunite the European nations under a single roof. But every organization needs a president, a secretary and in this case, thousands of employees, and they all have to be paid. That is why, among many other things, being a member of the EU costs money, a lot of it.
Even though the United Kingdom has been a member for 43 years, some of the British politicians have expressed they don’t like it. In fact, the British don’t use the Euro. Many of the discomforts come from the fact that to be part of the multi-country organization, and each member has to abide by certain rules, and some people think there are too many of those. In fact, UKIP is using an unyielding speech full of big words slur like “They are enslaving us”.
However, the United Kingdom has benefited dearly from being a member of this organization, especially the financial sector. When the trade treaty was established, the British market exploded and continued to do so. In 2015, 47% of UK’s export was delivered to EU countries from which they imported 53.1% of their total international purchases. These excellent financial numbers position the Foreign Indirect Investment (FDI) at $1.7 trillion, the third best in the world after China and the United States.
Also, last year, more than 70% of the cars built in the country where exported which is a record country’s history. Most of those purchases were made by UK’s neighbors, the ones that are in the EU, compelling 57% of that number which increased more than 10% since 2014.
This is all possible because of the free trade agreements which all EU members have. Being part of the organization also means that the more than 80,000 British people living in one of the EU countries get to enjoy all the benefits of full citizenship, health care, employment, the right to register a company and so on.
Leaving the EU would affect the United Kingdom at every level, from the top to the bottom
If people go and vote for the UK to leave the EU, it would be safe to assume that some or all of the benefits that the British have right now would be lost. For example, out of the EU means out of the free trade agreements, which means, things from the UK would get more expensive, and nobody likes expensive.
Most of the companies and governments that represent 43.7% of the total British export would look for another business partner, and the automotive sector would lose more than two-thirds of its clients over the night. Moreover, the investors would stop injecting money in the country because of the resultant uncertainty.
In short, the production loses most of their clients, and it would be forced to shorten its payroll which means that a wave of unemployment would be unavoidable. And since more than 50% of the imports comes from EU countries, things would get relatively expensive for the common, and now recently unemployed, citizen.
There are so many cons that even the host of Last Week Tonight, John Oliver, addressed the situation. He presented a very well compelled case opposing Brexit. By the end of the show, a British choir joined the set to say basically that it would be crazy for the United Kingdom to leave the EU. However, the TV chain that airs the program every Monday night in the UK did not show this sketch about Brexit, and instead, it will air it on Thursday night after it loses its relevance. The company said it was abiding by the law of impartiality during an electoral process, but since the president of the company, Rupert Murdoch, is known for supporting traditional parties, people have significantly criticized the decision.
However, the TV chain that airs the program every Monday night in the UK did not show this sketch about Brexit, and instead, it will air it on Thursday night after it loses its relevance. The company said it was abiding by the law of impartiality during an electoral process, but since the president of the company, Rupert Murdoch, is known for supporting traditional parties, people have significantly criticized the decision.
“If leaving is so universally seen as a bad idea, then who is in favor?” rhetorically asked John Oliver during his Brexit sketch
The group leading the Brexit proposal is the politic party UKIP, and they are using everything they can to promote the idea. The party is pushing Brexit very hard mainly over racial motives. In fact, members of its party have been recorded openly talking in a racist way on different occasions.
For instance, UKIP candidate to the parliament, Robert Blake, was suspended after he was filmed referring to a rival in a racist way. It is no wonder they claim that under EU’s legislation the country cannot close the doors to the immigrants, which according to them, have been flooding UK looking for jobs. They say this makes the market more difficult for the British and could potentially lower the wages.
Maybe the most logical reason exposed by the organization is that the EU membership is too expensive. They said it was costing the government 350 million sterling pounds a week, but a group of governmental agencies clarified that the actual number was 250 million sterling pounds. Moreover, according to the New York Times, that number is 190 pounds after the rebate which would be what the UK would have to pay a week to enter the common market.
All will decide on Thursday when the British cast their votes, and all the eyes of the world are going to be on them. Just as the world measured the United States after they elected Clinton and Trump as their candidates, they will judge the UK for whatever the result of the referendum is.
Source: Seeking Alpha