UK-EU Membership - What do YOU think? - POLL

[Suffolkboy]

Latest post of the previous page:

It might just break out if they don't!



I think a referendum in the first place was the wrong thing. We supposedly put our trust in our elected MP's to make the right decisions for our country's best interests and that is how it should have been decided, not by bowing to the pressures of a man like Nigel Farage. That's what we pay them for.

I was glad to read the above which I fully agree with.

[morty1753]

Maybe that is how it SHOULD have been decided, but the conservative party manifesto included the promise of a referendum on continued membership of Europe.

I am sure that promise went some way to ensuring their success at the General Election so they were obliged, to a certain degree, to hold that referendum. And after holding that referendum they are somewhat obliged to follow the result of it, like it or not.

I only wish the referendum had been on the question of "all out" or "all in" instead of "all out" or "continue the half-hearted membership we have at the moment". My vote in the referendum may well have been different in that case.

[Trigger]

Petition for second EU referendum may have been manipulated

A petition calling for a second EU referendum which has gained more than 3 million signatures is under investigation by parliamentary authorities. The House of Commons petitions committee has confirmed that 77,000 signatures, which were added fraudulently, have been removed. A tweet by the committee said that it would continue to monitor the petition for suspicious activity.
The request for another referendum on the parliament’s official petitions website should have been signed only by British citizens and UK residents. However, the petition’s data showed signatories from countries around the world, including Iceland, the Cayman Islands and Tunisia, and in some cases there are more signatures than total population. Despite Vatican City, a tiny city state, having a total population of just 800, over 39,000 residents of Vatican City appeared to have signed the petition.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/201 ... anipulated

[Mel]

I don't think there were too many trying to tell us to get rid of the pound in favour of the Euro (well not within the UK).

Tony Blair, Ken Clark, Nick Clegg plus the CBI. Corporate bosses from Unilever, BP, British Airways, Richard Branson and to some extent our national broadcaster the BBC...to name just a few.

[Aussie K]

There is no chance of parliament not accepting the decision & will of the people, neither the EU excepting a "please may we come back"from us.
The financial benefits as I see it are not likely to be instant but the years after we can brake our final ties from the EU. The main benefit is that we have regained our democracy and when all those young people who believe they have been robbed of there future's will as they become older will realise and be grateful to us older generation for this result

Them young folk think we oldens are daft, but us old folk know them young ones are daft. (well most of us)

PS I can't find the smilies.

[SL-Dave]

Interesting comment in the Guardian...
"If you've got money you vote in.... if you haven't got money you vote out".

Unsure of the truth in this statement, but it does make for interesting...pondering....

[boatbuilder]

Sounds as though they've got that the wrong way round to me. Does that mean Boris is broke?

[Suffolkboy]

I remember a time at Lowestoft when we had the likes of Brooke Marine and Richard's ship building,Pye Television,Coop Canning factory,Bally Shoe factory,Eastern Coach works and a thriving Fishing industry with the Scottish boats and Scots girls who would arrive at Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth for the Herring season - they were truly times of plenty to choose employment and mix with those from North of the Border.

Then we joined the EU. The rest is history. Very sad.

[SL-Dave]

What I find ironic is that Scotland wants to declare independence from the UK - they want to rule their own country. And yet, they also want to join/stay with the European Union, a body that wants to federalise everything including the single currency, single armed forces etc. Seems a bit illogical to me.

[SL-Dave]

Just read this from the Express website; unsure how accurate or even true it is....

European SUPERSTATE to be unveiled: EU nations 'to be morphed into one' post-Brexit

EUROPEAN political chiefs are to take advantage of Brexit by unveiling their long-held plan to morph the continent’s countries into one GIANT SUPERSTATE, it has emerged today. The foreign ministers of France and Germany are due to reveal a blueprint to effectively do away with individual member states in what is being described as an “ultimatum”. Under the radical proposals EU countries will lose the right to have their own army, criminal law, taxation system or central bank, with all those powers being transferred to Brussels. Controversially member states would also lose what few controls they have left over their own borders, including the procedure for admitting and relocating refugees. The plot has sparked fury and panic in Poland - a traditional ally of Britain in the fight against federalism - after being leaked to Polish news channel TVP Info.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/ ... t?AID=7236

[Aussie K]

European SUPERSTATE to be unveiled: EU nations 'to be morphed into one' post-Brexit

This will happen regardless of it's members wishes and it will still be run by a very few unelected Eurocrats and there power will be frightening, our veto's may well disappear also Is that what the the people who voted remain genuinely want?
I believe we should bight the bullet, invoke article fifty and notify them that our contributions to the EU will cease in the two year time table and we shall be open for business usual, We will have the benifit of a massive trade surplus as a bargening lever.
One thing is for sure, is that if the powers that be some how conjure up a way to deny our exit from the EU there will be masses of booth labour and conservative voters transferring there franchise's to UkIP.

[Meryl]

Do you think that we will now have lost the funding for the third crossing?

[boatbuilder]

Just read this from the Express website; unsure how accurate or even true it is....

European SUPERSTATE to be unveiled: EU nations 'to be morphed into one' post-Brexit

These are just my immediate thoughts on this issue.

I would think that whilst the UK remained in the EU there was no way this would have happened as it would have required the backing of the UK as one of the EU's most important members, who just wouldn't have let it happen (I don't think).

As it now seems that 'what-will-be will-be' and we will be out of Europe the main powers who wanted to push that through in Europe can now have it all their own way - hence them now pushing for us to implement Article 50 post-haste so that they can get on with their planning of this so-called 'Superstate'.

Of course there is nothing stopping any of the other member states doing a 'Brexit' as well thus avoiding being drawn into the so-called 'Superstate'. But just say they were all to leave apart from say the original six who started this all off back in 1957, they would then be free to form their, albeit somewhat smaller, 'Superstate'. However, if the other smaller nations DID pull out they could feel in an extremely vulnerable position, particularly where military power is concerned, against the new 'Euroarmy' and might just be tempted to remain, thus making it into the much stronger military power that EU wants.

Of course whilst we know there was hint of a Euroarmy even before the referendum, probably our government was well aware of all the other proposals - taxation, central bank, etc., as well - but felt unable to use that argument in the remain campaign for fear of being accused of some 'real' scaremongering, and really believed that the result would have been to remain without using it. Can you imagine the reaction from the Leave Camp to them saying in their remain campaign -
"Oh by the way, do you know that if we don't remain in Europe they will have this super-control of the majority of Europe by way of military, taxation, etc., which could even make us more vulnerable? But if we stay we can stop it happening"

As I said just immediate thoughts having read amansin's post and is probably totally wrong, has anybody any other thoughts about it?

[kerch]

Am I missing something ? does n't Parliament have the last word.

Is n't a referendum to find out the public opinion but they don't have to act on it do they?

[boatbuilder]

That's perfectly true, kerch. As I stated in a previous post it still has to go through parliament as far as I know and be voted on.

edit: just found this linked on the Parliament website:
http://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ ... y/CBP-7632

Is the voting binding?

Must the Government respect the vote to leave?

No, but politically it is highly unlikely that the Government would ignore the result. However, commentators have thought that not respecting an out-vote would be political suicide.

What if Parliament does not pass legislation to implement EU withdrawal?

Parliament could vote against the adoption of any legislation linked to withdrawal - an amendment to or repeal of the ECA, for example - but this would not prevent the UK’s exit from the EU if the UK Government had already notified the EU under Article 50 TEU.

Article 50 stipulates withdrawal two years from formal notification, with or without a withdrawal agreement.

[SL-Dave]

Do you think that we will now have lost the funding for the third crossing?

Many people online locally have mentioned this on other sites too. The simple answer is no, as none of the funding came directly from the EU. However, politically all is up in the air. It was Cameron who gave us promises, and with him gone, any politicians could now say that due to leaving the EU our countries budgets have gone up the tube and all non-essential projects are temporarily placed on hold. Please note, in the real world this actually means cancelled. So basically, who knows?!?!