Why we need to have the European Union (EU) membership debate

David Cameron promised that if the Conservatives were elected with a majority there would be a referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union (EU) before the end of 2017.

Inevitably his motives were questioned and was this to placate the Euro-sceptics on his backbenches or to stop a drift of voters to UKIP?

Whatever his motives there are respectable democratic reasons for giving the British people some say on this issue now.

The previous referendum on British membership was in 1975 so anyone under the age of 58 has had no say on this matter.

Moreover, the EU has grown and evolved since 1975 and the political map has changed since 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the unification of Germany.

The wider world has also changed under the pressures of globalisation.

Membership arouses strong feelings in a significant number of people and let’s examine the circumstances and motives that influenced the founding fathers of the EU in the early post war years.

Over 40 million people had been killed in two European wars and finding a way of resolve disputes politically rather than militarily was urgently required and this need was heightened by the ‘cold war’ between the USSR and the West.

In 1950 the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was founded to bring together Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. 

This evolved seven years later in 1957, into the European Economic Community (EEC) or ‘Common Market’ in the Treaty of Rome.

Britain, under the leadership of Edward Heath, joined the EEC in 1973, along with two other nations which were Denmark and Ireland.

The member nations did not charge customs duties on trade with each other which expanded their markets substantially and business interests back membership now because it gives them access to a market of 500 million people.

Today the EU accounts for 20% of world GDP whereas the UK accounts for less than 3% and when it comes to trade talks and deals the EU has greater clout than any of its member states.

That is why a Confederation of British Industry (CBI) survey of its members in 2013, found 78% favoured membership and only 10% wanted us to leave.

The Common Market was built on four pillars, the free movement of goods, services, money and people. 

The movement of services is the least well developed to the UK’s detriment because that is one of our strengths.

It is the free movement of people that is the most controversial and has fuelled support for UKIP from voters concerned about the level of immigration from other EU member states.

Experiences of large class sizes, NHS waiting times and shortages of affordable houses heighten these concerns.

At the same time more Britons work in other EU countries or retire to them than the numbers coming here, for example a million Britons now live in Spain.

That doesn’t settle the matter but it puts it into perspective, we need a serious national debate on Britain’s EU membership and it should be based on accurate information rather than propaganda

Her Majesty’s 62nd Queen’s Speech

On Wednesday 27^th May 2015, was Her Majesty’s 62nd Queen’s Speech with which she opened the new Parliament and set out the government’s legislative programme for the next year.

The Conservative election manifesto made most of its contents predictable and the message the Prime Minister wants us to believe is that his government will “adopt a one nation approach, helping working people get on, supporting aspiration and bringing different parts of the country together.”

What will this mean in legislative terms?

First, it means managing the economy to reduce the deficit and create two million more jobs to achieve full employment.

Governments don’t create many jobs, especially if they want to cut public expenditure, so they have to create conditions that enable businesses to do so.

An Enterprise Bill will cut red tape to help small businesses to grow and employ more people.

Increasing provision of free child care will free more parents of young children to work and another Bill will seek to protect public services from strikes by raising the bar that trade unions must achieve before they can call their members out.

A "One Nation" approach has to touch the poor as well as the better off.

A Bill to exclude anyone working 30 hours a week on the minimum wage from paying income tax will help and it will be aligned with the personal tax allowance which is to rise in stages to £12,500.

The same legislation will ensure no increases in Income tax rates, VAT or National Insurance in the next five years.

Devolution was an inevitable theme and the programme includes five Bills to devolve powers to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as well as English metropolitan cities which opt to have directly elected Mayors like London meaning they will be given powers relating to housing, transport, planning and policing.

The fifth Bill will seek to reserve to MPs representing English constituencies matters that only affect England and that will be popular with Conservative backbenchers but could exacerbate nationalist sentiments and threaten the future of the UK.

Other potentially divisive items include the Referendum Bill, an Immigration Bill and an Investigatory Powers Bill.

The latter will seek to strengthen the government’s powers to detect and stop terrorist plots, criminal networks and child-grooming gangs.

Desirable though these objectives are human rights zealots will demand measures to increase the accountability of those exercising these powers.

Just as controversial will be legislation to replace the Human Rights Act with a new Bill of Rights.

The existing Act incorporates the European Convention on Human rights into English Law which has allowed the European Court of Human Rights to overrule UK courts and block the deportation of people like Abu Qatada and Abu Hamza.

Opponents of a new Bill include some influential Conservatives so all the Speech promises is that proposals will be brought forward, presumably for consultation, with a Bill to follow in next year’s Speech.

The "One Nation" theme is not new.

There have been One Nation Conservatives for many years and Ed Miliband used the same theme in his last party conference speech.

It remains to be seen whether it can be delivered by this government, but It is certainly worthy of our prayers.