Claire Sorry not to have responded earlier, but I've been away from pixels all day. "A friend sent me this today" Well, a friend sent me this a few days ago... I am very worried indeed that Britain will make an historic mistake by voting to leave the European Union next Thursday.  So I wanted to invite family and friends to think very carefully before they make this choice, and remember that: •            this is not an election, where we can change our minds in five years’ time.  This decision will be irreversible and for ever.  It will have consequences for our children and grandchildren.  This is very very serious.  It is not about hitting back at “experts” or the “establishment” or “Europe”.  Nor is it about politicians or personalities.  It is about future prosperity and security for every single inhabitant of these islands, for them and for their descendants; •            in making a choice as complicated as this, now is not the time to deride or ignore the experts, however satisfying that might feel. Nor should we ignore our friends and allies from around the world. Their overwhelming view is that Britain will be less safe, less secure, less successful, and, above all, poorer, perhaps much poorer, as a result of a decision to leave the world’s most successful economic community of free nations; •            Britain is doing very well at present, with the fastest growth in the developed world, and the highest employment in our history.  Even those who favour Brexit, acknowledge that there will be a short term shock – which could be very severe – to the British and European economies.  But the aftershocks will go on for many decades, with Britain permanently poorer. •            Much of the debate about sovereignty is based on myths and worse.  On her own Britain would have far less ability to protect and promote our economic interests than we do as part of a club of other rich and powerful nations.  By sharing our sovereignty we maximise it.   But we don’t lose it: the fact that we can make next week’s choice shows that we still have it. •            I understand why people are worried about immigration, and everyone agrees that more must be done to manage it, and its consequences in terms of pressure on services, housing etc.  But immigration is a measure of our success as an economy and a society, and a huge factor in that success: without immigrants, we would be a much less successful economically.  We need to remember that there is even more immigration from outside Europe.  Pulling up the drawbridge to Europe is the wrong response, which would do us far more harm than good. And I can’t help feeling that much of the opposition to immigration reflects values that I would not regard as worthy of a great nation like ours; •            There is no certainty about any of the alternatives to membership of the European Union, each of which would leave us worse off, and all of which would take years to negotiate. •            Of course the EU is annoying, but, in my direct experience, the realities – as opposed to the myths – are not significantly more annoying than other forms of imperfect democratic government closer to home.  And while walking out might give some short term satisfaction it would leave us far worse off in every way: our folly would become apparent in days, but its consequences would last for decades. •            In the long run of history, Britain deciding to leave the European Union could be the start of something much bigger and more dangerous for Europe and the West, analogous to America’s decision after the Great War to walk away from the League of Nations. So, who's to say your friend's opinion is more valid than my friend's?

Entire Thread

Topic	Date Posted	Posted By
Project Hope	22/06/16 09:43:00	Ken Munn
Re:Project Hope	22/06/16 09:52:00	Andy Pease
Re:Project Hope	22/06/16 09:52:00	Russell Pearson
Re:Re:Project Hope	22/06/16 09:56:00	Michael Brown
Re:Re:Project Hope	22/06/16 09:58:00	Russell Pearson
Re:Re:Re:Project Hope	22/06/16 11:17:00	Claire Moran
Re:Re:Re:Re:Project Hope	22/06/16 12:57:00	Jonathan Bingham
Re:Re:Re:Re:Project Hope	22/06/16 21:34:00	Ken Munn
Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Project Hope	22/06/16 21:56:00	Claire Moran
Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Project Hope	23/06/16 01:00:00	Ken Munn

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