Ten Reasons Why Brexit Must Be Stopped

The original article was written by Anthony H Ratcliffe on the 5th March 2019.

1. In June 2016, the UK’s economy was the fastest growing of the G7 countries. Today it is the slowest.
2. In June 2016, 450 of the 650 Members of Parliament were for Remain; all the western democratic leaders, canvassed for their views, opined that staying in the EU would be in the UK’s best interests; and all our living former Prime Ministers — Major, Blair, Brown and Cameron — are firmly committed Remainers. The only national leaders who supported Leave were our good friend, Putin, and Trump. Thatcher would certainly have supported remaining, whilst successfully handbagging Tusk for the concessions Cameron could not secure!
3. In the 1960/70’s, the UK was known as The Sick Man of Europe, due to our feeble economic performance. By 2016, after 40 plus years of EEC/EU membership, we were the best performing of the large European economies.
4. When Thatcher signed us up for the Single Market legislation, she considered her part in its creation to have been her finest political achievement, surpassing even the Falkland Islands victory.
5. Our EU membership has been directly responsible for the regeneration of our car industry, due to enormous Japanese, Indian and American investment by global car manufacturers, seeing the UK as their “aircraft carrier” access into the European Single Market. Most regrettably, we now see those decisions being reversed, as the Japanese and American car and engine manufacturers announce intentions to withdraw or reduce their investment in the UK. What incentive will there be for global companies to locate and invest in the UK, without tariff-free Single Market access?
6. In over 2,500 years of recorded history, Europe has never before known 70 plus years of sustained peace amongst its major nations — the EU’s greatest accomplishment. With increasingly belligerent Russian behaviour this is not the time for European unity to be fragmented or its defence forces weakened.
7. With declining birth rates in most European countries, economic growth can only be sustained by permitting and encouraging immigration, albeit selectively. The NHS is already under considerable strain, due to a shortage of doctors and nurses, who cannot be replaced, in any sensible time scale, by medically qualified Britons.
8. The substitution of WTO tariffs, in place of the tariff- free Single Market status our exporters presently enjoy, will put them at a significant disadvantage.
9. Since it has proved totally impractical to unpick forty years of the legislation which has bound us into EU legal structures, we have already adopted considerable EU legislation as UK law and so post- Brexit, we would still be fettered by almost all the same regulations. What is the point of ‘Taking Back Control’ of laws, which largely replicate those of the EU?
10. The younger generation have grown up enjoying freedom of travel, work and residency within the EU. Seventy-five percent of our 18–24 year olds voted Remain in the First (sic) Referendum. Their parents and grandparents have no mandate to take these rights away from them.

The original article was written by Anthony H Ratcliffe on the 5th March 2019.