My Thoughts on the EU Referendum

Before I begin this post, I would like to state that all I have written is my own opinion, and is not to be taken as fact. Furthermore, I am not as educated on this as others may be, so if I have made any mistakes, please politely point them out to me, instead of attacking me. Cool. 

If you are living in the UK, or possibly even in Europe, you have probably heard that there is going to be a vote regarding the UK leaving the European Union. This vote came about after our Prime Minister, David Cameron, was kind of pressured into promising the vote, by members of his own party. Since then, he has been holding talks with various EU leaders, to attempt to change our terms of being in the EU, or something along those lines. 

Now, the UK faces a vote, due to take place on June 23rd, regarding our membership in the European Union. If you live in the UK, and are aged 18, or over, please register to vote before June 7th, because it's our future that will change!! 

So that is a little bit of (poorly understood, and written) background on the situation in this country at the moment, and now I can begin to write my thoughts on the subject... 

When I first heard about how we might be leaving the EU, my thoughts immediately went to trade, and the impact this would have on us. It would make trading with other countries more difficult, and also might discourage other countries from wanting to trade with us. This, in turn, could impact jobs. If the trade rates fall, people are going to be made redundant, to avoid making expenses rise above the necessary. 

If people are losing their jobs, then they will be spending less on items that aren't necessary - such as movies, and music, so other industries will be impacted, meaning more jobs lost, less money going into the economy, everything gets messed up... Possibly. 

Being a member of the European Union means that citizens of other member countries can live and work within the UK, and UK citizens can live and work within the EU with very little difficulty. In fact, around 5.5 million British people live permanently abroad. So why shouldn't members of other countries be able to live abroad? 

Being in the EU leads to diversity within our country, which, I believe, is both perfectly acceptable, and something that needs to happen. So many people are racist, and these people are shouting louder than anyone else in this debate. People are people, no matter the colour of their skin, and they should have the same freedom as us privileged white people. It's important to not only understand, but accept, other cultures, and staying in the EU will help this to be achieved.  

The final point I wish to make on this topic is that if we leave the EU, we can't predict our future. The safety of many jobs, but particularly those in trade, and the like, cannot be confirmed. We do not know what is going to happen to our little country in the next twenty years if the majority vote "leave". We will likely have fewer allies in the event of war, and we are only a tiny island. 

Whereas, if we stay in the EU, we can predict the affairs of the country for the next twenty years, jobs are more likely to be safe, we can travel within the European Union pretty easily... If we leave, we're going into the future blind. We don't even have a decent plan for leaving, and knowing the way the UK government handles certain things, they will probably mess it up. However, that, my friends, is a story for another day. 

So, if I were a year older, I would be voting "stay". 

In the (somewhat inappropriate) words of my boyfriend... The EU is sexy and I like being in her. 

 

So there we go. Why I think the UK should remain a member of the European Union. What do you think?

- Dottie x