Letter: It’s Easy to Preach to the Converted

Published on: 7 Apr, 2019
Updated on: 7 Apr, 2019

From John Perkins

In response to: Lord Adonis’s Campaign In Guildford for a ‘People’s Vote’ Wins Applause

It’s easy to win applause when preaching to the converted.

Until the UK is out of the EU no trade deals are possible. Why would any other country waste time and money negotiating one only to see it rendered useless by a UK parliament seemingly determined to thwart the will of its electorate?

Adonis must be one of very few retaining respect for the PM. But what level of respect did he start with given that he has consistently voted against her?

Some people never miss an opportunity to use the phrase “cliff edge” (or “crashing out”), yet not one of them ever offers any reason for it. Claiming that the economy will be “badly affected” is similarly just scare-mongering. So too are threats of a return to the Troubles in Northern Ireland. It’s despicable to raise that possibility and especially so as it was introduced by the EU.

If it’s the “right thing, the democratic thing” to hold another referendum then, regardless of the result, it will be right and democratic to hold another after that, and another after that one and so on ad infinitum. Of course, everybody understands that there will not be another one following any vote acceptable to Adonis and his friends.

Many would prefer to be “shut up on a small island with Jacob Rees-Mogg” rather than a slightly bigger box patrolled by the likes of Junker, Selmayr and Adonis. So many young persons, so little thought.

“Lead not Leave” is plumbing the depths.

Responses to Letter: It’s Easy to Preach to the Converted

John Schluter Reply

April 7, 2019 at 4:24 pm

I would suggest that far from being “converted”, the audience were probably mostly comprised of those who know of and appreciate the many benefits of EU membership. If however, there were a few waverers then I am sure that by now they have indeed been converted.
- C Stevens Reply
  
  April 7, 2019 at 7:05 pm
  
  Can John Schluter just remind us all once again please, what are “the many benefits of EU membership”?
John Schluter Reply

April 7, 2019 at 7:42 pm

In reply to C Syevens’ request, here are just a few from the Small Business Prices website:

Membership of the world’s largest trading bloc with over 500 million consumers, representing 23% of global GDP
The UK has greater global influence as a member of the EU
The EU provides a counterweight to the global power of the US, Russia and China
With Trump in the White House the UK’s strongest natural allies are France, Germany and our other West European neighbours
Tariff-free trade within the EU
The abolition of non-tariff barriers (quotas, subsidies, administrative rules etc.) among members
Participation in free trade agreements with Japan and Canada as an EU member
The EU accounts for 44% of all UK exports of goods and services
The EU accounts for 53% of all UK imports of goods and services
Cheaper food and alcohol imports from continental Europe
As a member of the EU the UK maintains a say in the shaping of the rules governing its trade with its European partners
3.1 million jobs in the UK are directly linked to exports to the EU
Free movement of labour has helped UK firms plug skills gaps (translators, doctors, plumbers)
Free movement of labour has helped address shortages of unskilled workers (fruit picking, catering)
The Single Market has brought the best continental footballers to the Premier League
The EU accounts for 47% of the UK’s stock of inward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), worth over $1.2 trillion
Access to the EU Single Market has helped attract investment into the UK from outside the EU
No paperwork or customs for UK exports throughout the single market
Price transparency and removal of commissions on currency transactions across the Eurozone
FDI into the UK has effectively doubled since the creation of the EU Single Market
The UK’s net contribution to the EU budget is around €7.3bn, or 0.4% of GDP (less than an eighth of the UK’s defence spending)
No time consuming border checks for travellers (apart from in the UK)
The City of London, as a global financial hub, has acted as a bridge between foreign business and the EU
British banks and insurance companies have been able to operate freely across the EU
Cornwall receives up to £750 million per year from the EU Social Fund (ESF)
Structural funding for areas of the UK hit by industrial decline (South Wales, Yorkshire)
Support for rural areas under the European Agricultural Fund for Regional Development (EAFRD)
EU funding for infrastructure projects in the UK including £122 million for the “Midlands engine” project
Financial support from the EU for over 3,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the UK
EU funding for the British film industry
EU funding for British theatre, music and dance
EU funding for British sport, including football apprenticeships, tennis and rugby league
Glasgow (1990) and Liverpool (2008) benefitted from being European capitals of culture, stimulating their local economies
EU competition laws protect consumers by combatting monopolistic business practices
Strict controls on the operations of Multinational Corporations (MNCs) in the EU
Human Rights protected under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights
The death penalty can never be reintroduced as it is incompatible with EU membership
Minority languages such as Welsh and Irish are recognized and protected under EU law
The right to reside in any EU member state
The freedom to work in 28 countries without visa and immigration restrictions
The mutual recognition of professional qualifications has facilitated the free movement of engineers, teachers and doctors across the EU
The mutual recognition of educational diplomas
The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) has standardized assessment of language proficiency across the EU
The freedom to study in 28 countries (many EU universities teach courses in English and charge lower fees than in the UK)
The Erasmus programme of university exchanges (benefitting 16000 UK students a year)
The freedom to set up a business in 28 countries
The ability to retire in any member state
Pension transferability
The right to vote in local and European Parliamentary elections if resident in any member state
EU laws making it easier for British people to buy property on the continent
The right to receive emergency healthcare in any member state (EHIC card)
Consular protection from any EU embassy outside the EU
The EU has played a leading role in combatting global warming (Paris 2015 climate change conference)
Common EU greenhouse gas emissions targets (19% reduction from 1990 to 2015)
Improvements in air quality (significant reductions in sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides) as a result of EU legislation
Reductions in sewage emissions
Improvements in the quality of beaches and bathing water
EU standards on the quality of drinking water
Restrictions on landfill dumping
EU targets for recycling
Common EU regulations on the transportation and disposal of toxic waste
The implementation of EU policies to reduce noise pollution in urban areas
EU policies have stimulated offshore wind farms
Strict safety standards for cars, buses and trucks
Protection of endangered species and habitats (EU Natura 2000 network)
Strict ban on animal testing in the cosmetics industry
Membership of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) which monitors the quality and safety of medicines (until recently located in London)
13% of EU budget earmarked for scientific research and innovation
The UK receives £730 million a year in EU funding for research
EU funding for UK universities
Cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy as a member of Euratom
Minimum paid annual leave and time off work (Working Time Directive)
Equal pay between men and women enshrined in European law since 1957
The right to work no more than 48 hours a week without paid overtime
Minimum guaranteed maternity leave of 14 weeks for pregnant women
Rights to a minimum 18 weeks of parental leave after child birth
EU anti-discrimination laws governing age, religion and sexual orientation
EU rules governing health and safety at work
The rights to collective bargaining and trade union membership are enshrined in EU employment law
The UK enjoys an opt out from the single currency and maintains full control of its borders as a non-member of the Schengen area
Since 1985 the UK has received a budget rebate equivalent to 66% of its net contribution to the EU budget
EU cross-country coordination offers greater protection from terrorists, pedophiles, people traffickers and cyber-crime
The European common arrest warrant
Europe-wide patent and copyright protection
EU consumer protection laws concerning transparency and product guarantees of quality and safety
Improved food labeling
A ban on growth hormones and other harmful food additives
Cheaper air travel due to EU competition laws
Common EU air passenger rights
Deregulation of the European energy market has increased consumer choice and lowered prices
Mutual recognition of the common European driving license
The introduction of the European pet passport
The abolition of mobile telephone roaming charges
The EU acts as a guarantor of the Irish Good Friday Agreement
A frictionless Irish border
The EU acts as a guarantor of the special status of Gibraltar
The EU helped support and maintain democracy in Spain, Portugal and Greece from the 1970s and these countries have become major destinations for British tourists
EU membership has helped facilitate intercultural dialogue
- S Callanan Reply
  
  April 9, 2019 at 12:49 pm
  
  What Mr Schluter doesn’t include in his post is that the list of reasons to stay in the EU was “found via Campaign to Remain – keep Britain in Europe Facebook page”. That’s just below the final item of his list on the Small Business Prices site. It’s a price comparison website, by the bye.
  
  So how reliable is what the list offers? I don’t know, though I’d observe that money coming to the UK from the EU must – in part at least – be UK money coming back.
  
  And I’ve looked but I can’t find out who Campaign to Remain are. Maybe someone knows because transparency is always a help in making a judgement.
  - Stuart Barnes Reply
    
    April 10, 2019 at 11:34 am
    
    S Callanan’s question regarding the Campaign to Remain and implying questions re the fantastic amount of money being spent by the Remainers is an interesting one. I am still awaiting the surely imminent BBC/Channel 4/Guardian investigation into Soros and other mysterious figures reportedly trying to overturn our democracy.
    
    Where is there a Mueller when we need one? Should we be looking for Russians?
- John Perkins Reply
  
  April 10, 2019 at 10:46 am
  
  ALL EU funding in the UK comes from money the UK contributed to the EU.
  
  Patent and copyright protection in the EU is provided by EPOrg, which is NOT an EU body.
  
  There is much other twaddle in this list.
Colin Cross Reply

April 8, 2019 at 1:41 pm

So what have the Romans ever done for us then?

Colin Cross is the Independent (R4GV) candidate for Lovelace ward in the forthcoming elections.