Brexit Poll
I'm still for staying in. Read the rest if you're bored.
We would need to implement most of the directives and regulations anyway - staying in we can have our say as to what they are. This is a no-brainer. From the POV of Europe, we become a "3rd Country" state. To be able to sell there we need to prove that our controls and goods are governed by equivalent laws for a lot of things. We would still need to manufacture to the standard that gets us the CE mark for instance. We won't have a choice in what we follow and what we don't...can you see any of the remaining countries saying to us "sure, off you go. Have a think about which bits you want and don't want and let us know, we would be delighted to give you a deal that only benefits you". Bill-hooks. We would be reamed for any benefits we tried to negotiate back.
I think Europe makes sure we at least try to work towards a better environment and less of a grab it all and sod the rest of them attitude (trough snuffling bureaucrats aside). I can't see Britain making anything like as much of an impact on the world in this sense if we separate.
We don't have the influence we used to. It's gone. We are a small country with a huge financial sector, a bit of a one-trick pony (the financial sector is huge as far as taxes, cash inflows, investment driving the economy is concerned). The glory days of empire and commonwealth leadership are behind us, we do better in company now.
The immigration "debate" (my skin crawls to use that word to describe the mud-slinging, back-stabbing farce that's going on about immigration) seems to be fear driven, nimbyism or a lazy reaction to the fact that things change. Maybe I live a sheltered life, but I'd like to hear if anyone knows someone whose job was actually taken, or of Eastern Europeans they know of who are part of this benefit-scrounging flood we've had. It would have no beneficial effect on illegal immigration. My bet is it would be worse. People would still want to come, but they would be grey-market players, not benefitting our country other than being cheap labour. You know, stealing "our" jobs as the popular press would have us believe.
The sector I specialise in (fund/asset management, financial firms) would be affected negatively and firms might move their jobs outside the UK if we leave the EU, but personally I think I'd be fine either way. The subject I specialise in (regulatory change) will always exist either way, so from a personal finance perspective I'm ambivalent.
I like that I could get on a plane and work anywhere I want to work in the EEA with no visa hassles. Do I do it? Not much, but I have. My parents lived in France for 6 years, built a couple of businesses, built pension contributions, got good healthcare and had virtually no paperwork to complete. I did a couple of years in the US and the visa and tax hassle was just about worth it in the end (and was paid for by my employer thankfully) but it's better not to have it in the first place.
We net pay into Europe, but I think we get our money's worth. I really am not sure what we gain by leaving. We will still be paying (to get access to the free market), we will still need to follow (what would then be) their rules, we would still have the same level of immigration (as if that were actually a problem), we lose our ability to bargain collectively on the world stage, we would still be part of NATO and have our obligations to defend Europe under that treaty, still fall under the non-EU governing bodies we are part of (European court of human rights anybody?), lose some of the checks and balances put in place on our own government so they don't get too extreme.
And that's just scratching the surface. Which hopefully you wouldn't do on that toy you bought for your child after we left the EU when to "encourage" some part of industry owned by one of its mates the government had lowered standards on paint. Yet the ones we export to Latvia are still made to EU standards and don't leave you with a lead poisoned baby (sorry, stooping to the fear-mongering level, but I guess these are pretty fundamental things we could end up changing / losing)
Sure, I could pick one or two things I don't like (bureaucracy, failure of our govt to negotiate favourable fishing quotas, agricultural policies that seem to encourage waste) and get angry about it, but when I think about my kid and how he will live, I seriously think he will be better off inside Europe than out. I'm not a "sovereignty or die" person nor a "get orrrfff my larnd" type so I don't have this issue with "losing power" (honestly, most of the power we lose is stuff people like Cameron should never be allowed in a room with, much like suckling piggies)
My thought is we need help to make things better for our kids, to curb our extremes. Europe is the best we have.
