Could Britain survive outside the EU?


There has for years now been a cynical and ruthless propaganda campaign to persuade us that Britain has no future outside Europe. This is nonsense. For example, take Switzerland. They ignored the encouragement of their Government and voted against joining the EU. But they have negotiated for themselves an excellent trade agreement - thereby putting a lie to the utterly false claim that no European country can possibly survive unless it becomes part of the EU.

The europhiles constantly argue that Britain would be ruined if she left Europe.

Oh, what porkies these people do tell.

As The Economist said recently: `...the idea that leaving (the EU) would be `economic suicide' is nonsense'.

Examine what would happen if Britain pulled up the Tunnel and stopped paying subs to the big EU in Brussels.

1. The EU would impose its external tariff on British exports to Europe. This would make very little difference to British companies - most of whose exports go outside Europe anyway. The World Trade Organisation restricts the EU to an external tariff of around 6% so the effect would, in any case, be quite small. (Britain would almost certainly be able to negotiate for itself a smaller tariff - in the way that Switzerland has. This would drive down the cost of leaving the EU still further.)

2. If outside the EU, Britain would, inevitably, be outside the euro. There would be an exchange rate between the pound and the euro. In the long run this could well be to Britain's advantage.

3. The external tariff on Britain's imports from outside the EU would disappear. Britain would probably gain more from this than it would lose from the imposition of a tariff on British exports to Europe.

4. A Britain outside the EU would be able to make special trading deals with other countries - such as those in the Commonwealth. This could be hugely advantageous.

5. Europhiles claim that if Britain left the EU then countries from outside Europe (such as Japan and America) would invest less. This is nonsense. Britain attracts more outside investment (known to economists as `Foreign Direct Investment') than other European countries because its labour market is still relatively unregulated. If it was outside the EU Britain could take advantage of its independence to reduce the number of regulations limiting foreign companies. EU regulations are already regarded as a minefield. Just ask some of the foreign companies who have had eurocrats leaping up and down all over them. Many would jump at the chance to invest in a less regulated part of Europe. The tariffs would be a small price to pay. Finally, even if FDI did fall, Britain would not necessarily lose since in an often irrational attempt to encourage foreign businesses (at the expense of British businesses) the British Government subsidises these investments. A subsidised outside investment may well not make money for the country!

The bottom line is that the British stand to lose nothing by leaving the EU.

If Britain left the EU it would leave behind an incompetent and power hungry bureaucracy which has consistently failed. If we left the EU they would not be able to do anything in revenge. Remember we have a trade deficit with the EU. (For example, we have a deficit of over £3 billion a year trade with Germany alone.) The EU countries desperately need our trade.

British politicians have supported the EU, lied and deceived the British voters and signed away rights and freedoms and they have claimed that they wanted Britain to have influence in Europe.

This is nonsense.

Britain has far less influence in Europe than it had ten, twenty or thirty years ago.

Politicians have sold out the voters to gain personal political influence.

Britain, and the British, have gained nothing from membership of the EU. But membership has cost a great deal.

Britain would survive and survive well outside the EU.

The people of Norway and Switzerland have voted against joining the EU - and have thrived. Greenland, once in the EU, escaped and has prospered since getting out. If they can do it so can Britain.

Britain would survive and prosper outside the EU. It would be richer and more powerful. And its citizens would regain their lost independence.

Britain's trade is in surplus with every state in the world except the EU. If Britain left the EU it could regain power of its legal system, armed forces, and agricultural policies. Hundreds of thousands of small businesses would be saved from stifling bureaucracy. British is the worlds leading business language. British dominates the Internet. Our language means that we can trade with any other country in the world.

Tony Blair won't tell you this but Britain would be much richer if it left the EU. We would save a fortune. And be free of 30,000 rules.

The only people who would lose would be the politicians for whom the British stage is too small.

We could leave the EU in minutes. All we have to do is recall our ambassador to the EU.

(Did you know we had one? How, you might ask, can we have an ambassador to something we are supposed to be part of?) Withdrawing our ambassador would invalidate all treaties between Britain and the EU.

Or Parliament could simply repeal the Acts of Parliament which hold us to the EU.

Simple.

We could be out of the EU in minutes.




Taken from `England Our England' by Vernon Coleman, published by Blue Books. Available from the webshop on this site (or from all good bookshops or web bookshops.)


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Copyright Vernon Coleman 2004