UK'S SNAP ELECTIONS OF JUNE 8, 2017: A BATTLE BETWEEN PRO AND ANTI BREXIT
UK'S SNAP ELECTIONS OF JUNE 8, 2017: A BATTLE BETWEEN PRO AND ANTI BREXIT
By:
Nurudeen Dauda
June 7,2017
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Please come with me, I shall state the reasons for the agitations by some UK citizens for Brexit from European Union.
United Kingdom's Prime Mister Mrs Theresa May called for a snap general election for June 8, 2017 claiming that divisions at Westminster risked hampering the Brexit negotiations. Mrs May has a fragile working majority of just 17 in the Commons. She said, she wanted "unity" at Westminster as talks on Brexit begin in earnest with the European Union(EU). However, UK parliament has 650 MPs. In 2015, the Conservatives won 331 seats, winning a 12-seat majority in the House of Commons. The Labour Party ended the election with 232 MPs, and the Scottish National Party (SNP) the third largest party with 56 MPs. In my understanding, candidates' manifestos whether Pro or Anti Brexit will essentially determine their victory in the elections.
On 23 June 2016, UK which is made up of England, Scotland, and Wales voted to exit EU. However, the final Brexit will reach up to 2019 before it will be finalized due to the strict process of exiting EU which involves sharing of assets and liabilities with 28 member nations. The UK has voted to leave the EU by 52% to 48%. Those in favour of Leave won the majority of their votes in England and Wales, while every council in Scotland saw Remain majorities votes. Some analyst argued that should UK finally exit EU in 2019 Scotland might equally exit UK.
A referendum on Scottish Independence from the UK was conducted on 18th of September 2014. The results showed 55.3% votes against independence and 44.7% votes in favour of UK stay. With majority of pro EU voters from Scotland if UK finally exits EU the pro Scottish Independence from UK might rise up again.
Former British Prime Minister David Cameron campaigned against Brexit, but he was defeated by the majority of votes cast. He, therefore, resigned from his seat as the prime minister. Cameron, first came to power in 2010.
Cameron had won re-election in 2015, which will see him remain in office until the next election due in 2020. The ruling Conservative Party elected Theresa May to lead the country after Cameron resigned following his failed campaign to persuade voters to remain in the EU.
WHY THE AGITATIONS FOR BREXIT FROM EU?
The European Union (EU) is a political and
economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. It has an area of 4,47km 2 (1,7sq mi), and an estimated population of over 510 million. The European Union is set up with the aim of ending the frequent and bloody wars between neighbours, which culminated in the Second World War. More so, the alleged fear of United Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) aggression now Russia might have also been the reason for its formation.
The 28 member countries agree to open their borders to other EU members, share a common market, and abide by various social and political policies. The EU has developed an internal single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states. EU policies aim to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital within the internal market. EU has an enacted legislation in justice and home affairs, and maintain common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries, and regional development.
SOME OF THE SEASONS:
There are issues such as: economics, immigration, security, and huge contributions to EU's Foreign Aid etc. The economics issue put forward by pro Brexit is that U.K. sends money to Brussels (the HQ of the EU), which then gets redistributed to the various other member states. The arguments of those in favor of Brexit sound similar to Americans who complain about national funding which goes to programs like the National Endowment for the Arts. Brexiters argue that leaving the EU will result in an immediate cost saving, as the country will no longer contribute to the EU budget.
Furthermore, some of them argue that taxes main for UK go to the European Union. Some, but not all, of that money comes back to Britain in subsidies to farmers, grants to universities and so on. In cash terms, Britain is the second biggest contributor to the EU budget after Germany. However, remain campaign(anti Brexit), on the other hand, argues that leaving the EU and its common market, in which Britain can sell goods to all EU states under favorable terms would wreck the British economy, and possibly the world economy.
Pro EU or remain campaigners argue that there is a Trade Benefits: EU is a single market in which no tariffs are imposed on imports and exports between member states. More than 50 per cent of UK exports go to EU countries, and the membership of the bloc means UK has always had a say over how trading rules are drawn up. They further argue that Britain also benefits from trade deals between the EU and other world powers and would lose some of that negotiating power.
On Investment benefits Pro-EU think the UK's status as one of the world's biggest financial centres will be diminished if it is no longer seen as a gateway to the EU for the likes of US banks. That's especially because by leaving the single market firms based in the UK would lose the rights to "passport" freely across the continent. An alternative option could be to secure a bespoke regulatory "equivalence" deal. For example, Since the Brexit vote, many banks and financial firms have begun establishing EU bases to take their operations out of the UK.
On Tax revenues pro EU argue that it would drop if companies carrying out large amounts of business with Europe – particularly if banks – moved their headquarters back into the EU. Free movement of people across the EU also opened up job opportunities for British workers seeking to work elsewhere in Europe. Remainers fear that Brexit will result in the country giving up its influence in Europe, turning back the clock and retreating from the global power networks of the 21st century.
On the Immigration issue. Any citizen of an EU member state can relocate and work in the U.K. without needing a work visa. Most economists agree that this is good for the economy, but right-wingers complain that non-U.K. citizens are coming in and using up already-scarce public resources, like the National Health Service and welfare. Under EU law, Britain cannot prevent anyone from another member state from coming to live in the UK, while Britons benefit from an equivalent right to live and work anywhere else in the bloc. The result has been a huge increase in immigration into Britain, particularly from eastern and southern Europe.
There is an argument that citizens from less economically endow EU countries in comparison to UK,Germany and France such as: Romania, Bulgaria, Estonian, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia. According to the Office for National Statistics, of UK there are 942,000 eastern Europeans, Romanians and Bulgarians working in the UK, along with 791,000 western Europeans and 2.93m workers from outside the EU.
By its laws EU members must allow all EU citizens to enter their country and work without restrictions. The “right of free movement” has allowed hundreds of thousands of Europeans to live and work in Britain. In the 12 months ending in September 2015, an estimated 257,000 EU nationals arrived in the UK. The Office for National Statistics estimates that there are more than 2 million EU nationals working in the UK.
On Security issue the former work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith, who was in favour of Brexit, said we were leaving the "door open" to terrorist attacks by remaining in the EU. "This open border does not allow us to check and control people," he said. Colonel Richard Kemp,said:"By leaving, we will again be able to determine who does and does not enter the UK," said Kemp, a former head of the international terrorism team at the Cabinet Office. "Failure to do so significantly increases the terrorist threat here, endangers our people and is a betrayal of this country."
However, several senior military figures, including former chiefs of defence staff Lord Bramall and Jock Stirrup, argued the opposite.
In a letter released by No 10, they said the EU was an "increasingly important pillar of our security", especially at a time of instability in the Middle East and in the face of "resurgent Russian nationalism and aggression". Defence Secretary Michael Fallon also said the UK benefitted from being part of the EU, as well as Nato and the United Nations. "It is through the EU that you exchange criminal records and passenger records and work together on counter-terrorism," he said. "We need the collective weight of the EU when you are dealing with Russian aggression or terrorism."
The EU has its own foreign aid programme to give Foreign Aid through contributions by its member nations. In 2013, UK spent almost €15 billion (£11.8 billion) on foreign aid.
However, In my understanding, UK's June 8 Elections will finally determine what majority of UK citizens actually want.