One aspect of the EU referendum that is a local issue is the activity of our MP in that respect
It is hypocritical of him to imply on his website that his attitude towards the referendum is influenced by the outcome of Cameron’s negotiations regarding our future relationship with the EU. He was appearing on platforms with the likes of Farage and Heffer, the same platform as that graced by Galloway on other occasions, before the outcome of the renegotiations was known. He appears on that platform in his capacity as an MP, not as a private citizen. He is our MP. Does he have a mandate from the people he represents? As far as I am aware he does not.
Mr Wragg’s website is headlined with a picture showing him getting chummy with Cameron. To a significant extent it is the work carried out by Cameron over the past ten years that has enabled people like Mr Wragg to achieve their political ambitions. Should I ever meet Mr Wragg I would be careful to avoid standing with my back to him.
The Brexit campaign is in some difficulty as all they can do is speculate but it is very unlikely to be the utopian land they seek to portray mainly because our future will be largely outside our control and will depend on the attitude of others, in particular the EU, but also the US, Commonwealth, etc, etc, etc.. One of the quickest developments is quite likely to be the end of the UK. The Scots will react with fury if they face being forced out of the EU by English votes. Sooner or later they will get the referendum that they will demand and they will vote for independence. They will probably be able to persuade the EU to maintain their membership and we will have a land border with the EU. No problem, Boris will post centurions on Hadrian’s Wall.
We would eventually lose our only nuclear base and probably send the rented weapons back to their owners. Would the UN want a non nuclear England as a permanent member of the Security Council? Probably not. Perhaps our seat would go to the USE, the United States of Europe.
Increased trade with Commonwealth countries will be difficult to achieve. Our closest friends, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada are all in the process of joining the Trans Pacific Partnership. China is the most important trading partner for New Zealand in several categories, second after Australia in others. UK does not even register and is presumably included in the figures for the EU which is well down the list. The UK on its own would be even further down.
It is likely that our most important trading partner would continue to be the EU and, presumably, EU regulations would apply (but we would have no say in the formulation of those regulations).
On the other hand we would, of course, be free to treat migrants as badly as we wanted to.
The Brexit campaign is stifled by the problem that it cannot present facts as to the nature of Britain after exit. There aren’t any, which is perhaps why they seem to be resorting to abuse and whingeing about the Yes campaign.
A couple of months ago I would have argued for a “free trading sovereign independent state”. But not now. It is time to get real and ditch the idealism.
