LETTER: What will the EU look like in 40 years?

The EU debate now enters its final phase.

The Remain camp have given up their claim that to leave is a leap into the dark. They are now forecasting exactly what Brexit will entail. Loads of details have appeared but a general “end of life as we know it” seems a fair summary of their opinions.

The Labour and Liberal Remain camps, both separate organisations, are having a hard time in South Holland.

Our Conservatives, John Hayes excepted, are mostly hiding in the bushes and saying nothing until it’s all over, when they will no doubt claim to have supported the winning side. They seem afraid of taking a position in case it costs them votes next May.

UKIP are doing our own thing and are also running one of the two Constituency cross party “Vote Leave” campaigns.

I can’t tell you exactly what will happen if we leave, because my party won’t be doing the exit negotiations.

There would be no immediate change and two years are allowed for suitable arrangements to be made. I expect it to be a gradual process but meanwhile we can make whatever external deals we wish, debated and approved in our own Parliament.

I can however say is that the change will be in order of importance to us and that new EU regulations (there are many in the pipeline), will not be binding on the UK.

The same thing applies to Remain. It is also an unknown quantity and it most certainly won’t be what we have now. Stability or the status quo is not an option.

Should we give the EU a green light there will be even faster change as new schemes for greater central control are implemented and extra members join the Union.

We will have negligible say in what is imposed upon us and be unable to stop policies damaging to us or remove the people who form them.

“Dave’s Deal” is meaningless and is now largely ignored by both sides.

The EU Commission will be our effective rulers, they are unelected. The EU Parliament is mainly a rubber stamp, as is our own when it comes to EU regulations. It’s over 40 years since we last had a say on a union with Europe, it was then the Common Market, a very different organisation.

Since that time we’ve had the EEC and now it’s the EU.

If our present masters can manage it, we may wait 40 years more for another referendum. What will the European Union look like then? For that matter how will it evolve in just five years? No-one knows but history rather than biased conjecture gives a good guide.

It all come down to how much you value democracy, are you willing to give up direct accountability or are you happy to subcontract your government to our near and far neighbours and hope they are kind to us? I recommend leaving.

Paul Foyster
Chairman UKIP
South Holland & the Deepings