A message from Scott Mann about why he will be voting to LEAVE the European Union on 23rd June.
In January, I announced that I would be campaigning to Leave the European Union. Post-renegotiation - my stance has not changed. Between now and Thursday, 23rd June, I will be making the case as to why the British people should vote to leave the European Union.
The Prime Minister fought hard to try and renegotiate our relationship with the EU, but the concessions he has been given only scratch the surface of what is needed to give Britain back its sovereignty and its independence.
Not a day goes by without an issue coming across my desk or a conversation taking place where someone, or something, is negatively affected by a regulation that has been passed in Europe. This must stop. There are many people who know how they will vote, but there are just as many who are torn on the subject because of the conflicting information that bombards them in the media, so allow me to briefly explain how the EU works, how we came to be a member, and how it affects us each and every day.
Britain joined the European Union in 1973, which at the time was known as the European Economic Community (EEC). We joined countries such as France and Germany to have a free trade area in order for goods to be sold freely without import tariffs. A referendum was staged in 1975 to ask the British people if they wanted to remain a member, and they ultimately chose to remain. Before joining, Britain had full control over the laws it made in Parliament, its judicial system, and its borders.
Over the years the ECC turned into a European (political) Union, with more countries joining and the establishment of a central government in Brussels to whom Britain increasingly gave away its sovereignty and independence to create laws, the ability to solely trade with non-EU countries, and the control of its borders to allow the freedom of movement.
Now, laws are proposed in Europe by an EU Commission. This Commission consists of un-elected politicians who decide how member countries, including Britain, should be governed. These laws are then handed down to the European Parliament which consists of MEPs who represent different parties from each member state. Only those MEPs who represent areas in the UK can be voted in or out by the British people. This means that laws are passed by hundreds of MEPs who do not represent the United Kingdom. The third pillar of the EU is the European Court of Justice, which can penalise member states who do not comply with the rules. Michael Gove, the Justice Secretary, has warned that the deal struck by the Prime Minister is not legally binding until it is ratified in treaty change which may not occur until after the referendum.
In my eyes, the people of Britain must be solely governed by an institution which lies in their own country and is run by their own people. If the people of Britain don’t like their government, they can vote them out and replace them with someone else. The people of Britain cannot do this with Europe. Not only do they have a small say in the make-up of the European Pariament, but they have no say in the make-up of the European Commission. The recent renegotiation has not given the UK the ability to solely govern itself.
According to the Office of Budget Responsibility, we're set to pay the EU £17.8 billion gross for 2015. In return, the UK will get approximately £9.3 billion, which means our net contribution will be £8.5 billion that we'll never see again. Membership is forecast to increase to £19.6 billion in 2016, with net membership costing £11.1 billion. (1) The Government’s renegotiation has not reduced our membership fee by a single penny, in fact it is likely to increase as our economy grows. Think of what we could spend this money on in the UK - The NHS, new infrastructure, new homes, regional funding.
Many people in Cornwall point out that we receive a lot of EU funding. Indeed we do, but this is money that came from British taxpayers in the first place. The application of EU funding has, in my opinion, not been well spent, and we could cut out a lot of bureaucracy if we just spent the money directly from central government instead of going via Brussels. Farmers also receive subsidies from the EU, but it would be wrong to suggest that the UK Government wouldn’t support its farmers outside the EU. They received subsidy before we joined the EU, and they will continue to be subsidised out of the EU. Farmers will not be left to fend for themselves in an independent Britain.
One of the main principles of the European Union is freedom of movement. This means that anyone with an EU passport can travel unhindered to another member state. Latest figures show that net migration stands at 323,000 per year.(2) Most of the Europeans who travel here are looking for work. The UK’s National Minimum Wage is much higher than what it is in some eastern European countries, which means the UK is very attractive for un-skilled workers, and will be even more so when we introduce the National Living Wage in March.
Wanting to leave the EU is not anti-immigration. We need immigration. Without immigration, we wouldn’t be able to remain a prosperous country with a thriving economy. Our NHS also relies on many people from overseas, but we must have controlled immigration, and it’s perfectly rational for any country to want to control its borders and decide who can live here. The recent renegotiation has not given us any power to control this.
The UK needs a system where it vets everyone on a level playing field, whether they come from Romania, India, China, Germany or Brazil. Because of the EU's freedom of movement, we have to be very strict with people who want to come here from outside the EU, including Commonwelath countries, in order to keep immigration numbers down. Why should someone from Europe be given preferential treatment over someone else from India or China who could bring great skills here?
We hear every day how there is a lack of housing, school places, GP surgeries. Now of course we must address these issues head-on and train more doctors and build more homes. But we must also address one of the major factors for this problem, and that is uncontrolled immigration. Most migrants don’t come here for benefits, they come to work, and that’s why a “7 Year Brake” on in-work benefits (as promised in the renegotiation) simply won’t deter people from settling here.
Some big businesses are worried that out of the EU, we will have to rebuild trade agreements and potentially pay more for exporting goods. Should we vote to leave the EU, we will trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, meaning it will take up to 2 years to actually leave. During this time, the UK could re-build trade ties with European countries as it regains its sovereignty and independence to govern itself.
The UK already complies with EU regulation unlike other major economies, meaning a trade deal with the EU could be secured in good time.
The In campaign are saying that we’re jumping into the unknown. On the contrary. Being out of the EU allows us to make our own tailored trade agreements with EU countries and the rest of the world. The USA and China have trade agreements with the EU, and as the world’s 5th largest economy, we can too. There is no need for us to be in political union in order to trade with the Single Market.
In 2014, the UK exported £230 billion of goods and services to other EU member states, whereas imports from the EU were worth £289 billion. This gives us a trade deficit of £59 billion, (3) so the In campaign's argument that the EU will not trade with us is simply nonsense when they sell more to us than what we sell to them.
On top of that, if tariffs were introduced, we would actually be in pocket because imports from the EU would be worth more than the goods that we export to them. German and French politicians don't want to lose votes because they've had to put tariffs on German cars or French wine.
The EU's control over the UK is holding us back when it comes to trade, and I’m not voting to leave the EU just because of my own convictions, but because I know how the people of Cornwall are affected. Under the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy, our fisherman have to sit and watch as foreign boats enter our waters and plunder our fish stocks. Out of the EU, we would take back our waters and put our fisherman first. Like many areas in need of urgent reform, this policy was not changed in the recent renegotiation.
Britain is a great country. We existed before the EU, and we will exist out of it. We won’t be “drifting into the Atlantic” as the In campaigners claim. We would remain in Europe to trade and go on holiday and share valuable information with security agencies; We would remain a member of NATO to ensure our national security and defend ourselves from Russian aggression; We would remain a member of the United Nations to have a leading role on the world stage, and finally, we would re-gain our seat on the World Trade Organisation to do business with the whole world and open our arms to countries, peoples, and markets all over the globe.
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to unshackle our country from the grasp of the European Union. Let's take back our sovereignty, and let's take back our independence.
Let's take back our Great Britain.
Scott Mann
Member of Parliament for North Cornwall