The poll was counted and it was a fifty-fifty split decision.
That was at a recent meeting where twenty-nine business owners were asked to do a straw poll, the question: Should Britain Remain in The EU?
One abstained and fourteen voted yes, fourteen voted no. I went from feeling fairly confident about the whole issue to deeply questioning my choice and why I’d made it.
I’d felt there would be an overwhelming majority voting one way or the other. Why wasn’t there?
It struck me that I had voted based upon a personal feeling and not on facts. Perhaps most others have too because as I start to question various people about the referendum it seems few have an idea of the real pros and cons for the future. And therein lays the issue. What will the future hold whichever way we vote as a nation?
It seems that most of what we hear to do with the choice ahead is driven by personal bias, it’s speculation with an agenda; where are the cold hard facts that we need in order to make an informed decision?
We are not just members of Europe, we are part of a global economy, look around your home, in your pockets, on your driveway. How much the result of the referendum will affect us will remain to be seen but we all have a duty to vote and to make an informed decision.
I’m no economist and somewhat sceptical of that area. The cynic in me always feels the system is inherently flawed. Is it just me or does our economy only work because people lose? It seems we need to have financial crashes in order for the markets to continue working, for people to justify their jobs, for traders to make money. A naive view I know but this is just a blog article not an economics treatise. My background was more physics oriented, remember where it says you can’t create something from nothing. With economics it always seems you can.
I tend to view many of the issues the news tell us are about to ruin our world as rhetoric from the Stock Market Traders who need to create crises. There is always a way for money to be made by someone.
I also find it strange that life manages to go on despite these civilisation destroying ‘swans’ looming and I’ve been through a few market crashes in my time. Will anything actually change after the referendum then?
Brexit?
What are we really voting for?
What kind of future do we want to have in Britain?
What will the European Union be in ten years time if we stay in or leave?
What will the burden be upon us if we stay in?
What economic future does Britain have as a world trading power if we leave.
What are we committing to either way?
Do you want to support UK businesses? Do you care about the future of our Farmers?
Did we care about our coal industry or steel industry? Who gave a damn about our ship builders?
These aren’t all Brexit issues are they. They are lifestyle issues. As a nation we chose cheaper imported coal, we chose cheaper steel, milk, food. We gave up on so many things because we wanted a lifestyle unlike any our forebears ever knew.
We wanted Sky TV, several cars on the driveway, posh holidays, designer european clothes (made in china?), home cinemas, playstations, x-boxes, more than two tv’s in each home (heaven forbid we should be classed as impoverished), home computers, iPads, iPhones, satnavs, we wanted huge salaries but we weren’t prepared to pay others the wage we felt we deserved. We wanted our money to buy even more luxuries to improve our life so we shopped abroad. We re-mortgaged our homes for a better world and somewhere along the way sold our souls and now we want to pretend we didn’t in a minor burst of British angst.
Why are we having a discussion about leaving the EU?
Perhaps we’re fed up of legislation from Brussels. (There will always be legislation to grumble about from somewhere though.) We’ve lost our pounds and ounces, duty-free and passport stamps when we go to Europe. There are no Francs, Pesetas and Deutschmarks. Is it because people are turning up on our shores unannounced asking for help and we don’t want to give it. We’re much happier if they end up on the border of a third world country in a shanty town where we can post aid to and pretend it’s not real.
The thought of us ever having to live life the way so many others in the world do scares the pants off us and we rebel.
That others should dream to live the life of luxury we take for granted somehow seems wrong? Why? How many Europeans once left for a new life in the Americas?
Brexit?
What kind of Britain do you want for you grandchildren?
You get to decide, but before you do please try and find out what Europe will become whichever way we vote. Don’t listen to what you’re told by those who have an agenda, nor pay attention to my little diatribe, ask the questions that will give you a sense of the facts. Make an informed decision.
I can’t tell you what your dream for the future should look like, it’s your dream. I can ask you to dream big, to dream positively and to research the practicality of that dream.
I’m still desperately looking for answers and fear I will be for some time. My mind isn’t made up at the moment, even though I thought it was.
Now I’m just going to retire to a bunker and put on a hard hat before the responses to this come in, but before I go I’ll leave you with some links you may find interesting, some things to get you started.
The process for withdrawing from the European Union
EU membership and the Bank of England’s policy making framework.
IoD calls on all parties to accept need for EU reform
British Chamber of Commerce EU Referendum Hub
Standard and Poors opinions on a potential Brexit
EU Facts: how much does Britain pay to the EU budget? Telegraph 29/02/16
How Much Does Britain Really Pay The EU
FAQ’s Business and the EU The CBI
Brexit Is A Risk To The Reserve Status Of Sterling Standard and Poors
What Does Brexit Mean for House Prices? The Telegraph
From 2013 Gas from Norway, coal from Russia: eight graphs on the UK energy system
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