Which EU Referendum Issue is most important to you?

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Which EU Referendum Issue is Most Important to You?

Just wanted to know which EU referendum issue you found to be the most important.

A lot of bretixers are saying that the referendum isn't about the economy or money, it's about taking back control whilst the remain campaign are very much focused on the economic argument. And of course there is immigration and democracy.

What do you think?

Reply 1

M14B

Counts 1, 3 and 4 for me.
Guilty as charged

Reply 2

Rakas21

The economy for me.

One of the bigger reasons for me now moving to Out is that i have essentially concluded that even after 40 years of membership, our economic successes and failures are largely our own still. If leaving causes a 1.3% hit to GDP and net unemployment growth of less than half a million jobs (the treasury forecast) then i consider that a price worth paying for the potential longer term gains.

Reply 3

Tempest II

All four of those are important as far as I'm concerned.

Democracy - The EU Parliament may be elected but the European Commission isn't. Power in unelected bodies isn't something I'm totally against (such as the House of Lords) but the Commission are the ones who put forward legislation whereas the House of Lords only really has the power to delay bills. Correct me if I'm wrong but the EU Parliament can't actually propose legislation without an awful lot of hoops to jump through (unlike your local MP in the House of Commons who can submit a Private Member's Bill).

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/external/html/legislativeprocedure/default_en.htm

http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/laws/bills/private-members/

Economy - We may have to take a short term hit. Naturally most economists, large businesses etc like situations to be predictable. Brexit would be a step into the unknown to a certain extent & in the short term i do think UK growth would slow down. I doubt we'd enter a recession however & in the longer term I don't think they'd be significant impact (if anything our GDP growth could be better due to problems in the EU & our ability to trader further afield)

Sovereignty - To me the UK Parliament should have sovereignty. It's the body that decides our taxation rates, our public service budgets, creates, amends & passes legislation and is elected by the British people. Do I think FPTP is the best electoral system ever? No. We are part of other organisations such as UN & NATO but their requirements are far far less strict when compared to the EU.
If nations could exercise a better right to opting out then made this wouldn't be such a huge issue.

The fact that EU power seems to increase with every single treaty amendment doesn't bode will in my opinion.

Immigration - I believe we should have an Australian style points based system for everyone who wishes to live/work here. I don't believe in favouring those in Europe unless they have skills we need. The fact that we cannot control EU migration for me is a big reason why I'll be voting out - if the Prime Minister had secured at least some kind of mechanism to halt immigration I'd have found the choice more difficult.

Security - As a member of NATO, a member of various intelligence sharing treaties & as a member of the "Five Eyes" community don't think we need to be worried about security should we leave the EU. NATO is far more of an effective deterrent to possible future Russian aggression due to the presence of the USA (not to mention our own nuclear arsenal). As a member of the EU, our open borders policy unfortunately makes it easier for potential terrorists to enter the UK.

I'm not a die-hard believer in Brexit - until recently I was actually content to be in the EU as I do think international co-operation is important. The direction the EU is heading in however is not where one which I believe the UK should follow. It seems to be happy to accumulate further legislative power every time a new treaty is ratified (& if they don't get the answer they want they expect the government to hold the vote/referendum again until they get the result they do want which is what happened in Ireland & Denmark if I remember correctly).

Reply 4

username2659199

Original post by Tempest II

But we don't directly elect the UK delegation to the United Nations either? That organisation is much more undemocratic than the EU, at least we do directly elect people to the EU.

Also, arguably we do elect the commission, because the government we elected choose the representatives

Reply 5

Tempest II

Original post by Proximo

What powers do the UN have? What laws, regulations or restrictions does UN membership entail compared to the EU?

You could argue that about US Cabinet members as they're at least approved/rejected by Congress. The UK Parliament doesn't even get a vote on the matter so it's a very weak argument to suggest we "elect" the commissioners.

Reply 6

Jebedee

While immigration is important, as a brexiter it comes 3rd place to democracy and the economy for me, and a lot of brexiters I know. I think OP unfairly tars all brexiters as only capable of focusing on immigration.

Which EU Referendum Issue is most important to you?

Which EU Referendum Issue is Most Important to You?

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