Britain on a knife edge as EU vote approaches

The referendum on Thursday, June 23, will ask: “Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?”

And if the polls so far are anything to go by, the public is split on the answer – leaving the vote on a knife edge.

That means every ballot counted will be crucial. But why should you vote?

As reported in the Oxford Mail, Prime Minister David Cameron says it is for jobs. He has warned that leaving the EU could mean trade tariffs are imposed on goods being sold to the continent, including BMW Minis built in Oxford.

The Witney MP added: “The biggest risk we can take is to pull out of the EU, pull out of the single market, damage our businesses, damage jobs – and there will be fewer opportunities for our children and grandchildren.”

But Vote Leave campaigners argue there would be no incentive for European countries to tax trade with Britain. They claim getting out would free up Britain to trade with other nations outside the trading bloc.

Boris Johnson said: “After we liberate ourselves from the shackles of Brussels we will be able to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs right across the UK.”

There is a wide consensus that leaving the EU would come at some economic cost, but it is not that simple. Some regions and sectors might gain and others might lose out.

A number of major financial institutions, including the Bank of England, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), have also lined up to warn that markets would experience turmoil at least in the short-term, possibly lowering the value of the pound and pushing up inflation.

Many economists have argued EU membership has been good for living standards, but Vote Leave campaigners say the EU has been bad for ordinary families.

Nigel Farage said: “It is wrong, wrong, wrong that for average, decent families in this country, living standards have fallen by 10 per cent in the last few years.

“It’s about time as a society we started thinking not just about GDP figures, not just about the rich getting richer, but about ordinary, decent Britons who have had a rotten time.”

Mr Johnson and justice secretary Michael Gove have also said leaving the EU could bring down energy bills, but Chancellor George Osborne has dismissed that as “fantasy economics”.

Former prime minister Tony Blair said: “If Britain leaves, the day after you’re going to get the beginnings of what will be a serious economic shock for the country.

“You will put on the table your entire relationship with the European Union that’s grown over four decades of interlocking trade agreements and service agreements.”

Sovereignty – the control over who has ultimate say on the law of the land – is also a key factor for many people.

EU citizens directly elect members of the European Parliament and its approval is needed for new EU laws.

But member countries also accept a set of legal rights – not only for states, but for citizens – such as the ‘right to life’, ‘freedom of expression’ and the ‘respect for a private and family life’.

These cannot be overridden by member countries and this has caused controversy when the European Court of Justice makes rulings people here disagree with.

Mr Johnson said: “Democracy is the vital ingredient of economic success.

“It is irreplaceable and we need to restore it because it is the absence of democratic control that is having all sorts of disastrous consequences for Britain and for the whole of the EU.”

But Mr Cameron said: “Parliament is sovereign. We have just had a Queen’s Speech with a whole set of proposals and measures, some of which you might agree with and some of which you might disagree with, but they are British proposals for the British people from a British government.”

Immigration is also likely to prove key. Former cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith said EU freedom of movement has created “enormous loopholes”.

He added: “It is clear as day that the only way to get back control of our borders, and introduce a fair immigration system is to vote Leave.”

But Mr Osborne countered: “Britain is a great country that is open and inclusive, and indeed a country that shapes the world, not is shaped by the world.

“That is what we are fighting for.”

‘University funding will continue if we leave EU’

TOP Government ministers will today pledge to replace £15m of funding currently given to Oxfordshire by the European Union if Britain votes to quit the trading bloc.

In an open letter today, signatories including Justice Secretary Michael Gove, Employment Minister Priti Patel and Vote Leave frontman Boris Johnson seek to ease fears that cash for universities, scientists, farmers and regional funds could be at risk.

They said about £8.35bn committed to the UK in regional funding by the EU for up to 2020 – of which £14,977,495 was earmarked for Oxfordshire – was “safe”.

The cabinet ministers and senior Conservatives who signed the letter said they would replace this using £10.3bn spent overall on Britain’s annual EU membership, as well as cash given in tax refunds to big companies through the bloc and by taxing offshore companies.

They wrote: “It is clear there is more than enough money to ensure those who now get funding from the EU will continue to do so while also ensuring we save money that can be spent on our priorities.

“We will also be able to spend the money much more effectively.

“For example, some of the bureaucracy around payments to farmers is very damaging and can be scrapped once we take back control.”

They added: “The real danger to current recipients is that if we vote to remain the EU will further reduce their funding.”

The letter will be seen as an attempt to neutralise arguments made by ‘Remain’ campaigners that a vote for Brexit could hamper the UK’s science and universities sector. More than 100 university leaders warned in February that leaving would mean “cutting ourselves off from established networks and would undermine the UK’s position as a global leader in science and the arts”.

Oxford University has also come out in support of the EU, saying it benefits it “in a number of ways” such as research and the exchange of staff.

VOTE LEAVE

“THE PrimeMinister’s deal leavesthe EU in charge of thesamethings after his negotiation as before.

“It is not legally binding – meaning the European Courtcan tear it up the day after thereferendum.

“This is dangerous. We will keep sending at least £350m a week abroad.

“Immigration willcontinue out ofcontrol, putting publicservices likethe NHS under strain.

“The European Court will bein charge of our borders, immigration, asylum and even our intelligenceservices.

“If we Vote Leave, we will take back control and can spend our money on our priorities.”

From voteleave.org

VOTE REMAIN

“BRITAIN isstronger,safer and better off in Europe than we would be out on our own.

“Leaving Europe would risk our prosperity, threaten our safety and diminish our influencein the world. Morethan three million jobs in Britain are linked to our trade with other EU countries and being in is worth £3,000 peryear foreveryfamily.

“Meanwhile, manythreats to Britain’s security are global in nature, such as terrorism,cross-border crime orclimatechange. Thereis strength in numbers.

“The UK has morecontrol over its destiny by staying inside organisations likethe EU.”

From strongerin.co.uk