I came across this article today on the Guardian website entitled; I worked for Vote Leave, but I now realise Britain must stay in the single market. by Oliver Norgrove. A very interesting post which I highly recommend reading. First off let me commend Oliver for having the courage/insight not to be bogged down by ideology or politics and rather put the state of the nation at the forefront particularly when considering something with a profound impact on our future like BREXIT; not many people would be inclined to reassess/admit misjudgment so kudos to you Sir. I can only hope that more people on both sides of the political divide start looking into this important matter within that same context – the good of the country based on facts and irrespective of ideology/political views. Now I still differ with Oliver on Brexit because in my view even Soft Brexit is NOT necessary. I’ve written a few blogs on this (as many others have) – link to my posts below – so I won’t go into much details except to point a few things;
- If economic benefits are important to this country it certainly makes sense to be part of the EU so that we can influence decisions that affect our bottom line. If we’ve had some failures in the past in achieving our objects we can also point to failed leadership on our part. But let me also remind all that we’ve had plenty of successes with opt outs – rebate etc. so we haven’t really done too bad in part thanks to our EU partners and to our own influence/leadership.
- We all agree – and I think I speak for many Remainers – that the EU is far from being an ideal economic/political block due to too much centralisation & bureaucracy. Even EU politicians themselves agree there is much to be done on the reform side of things. The UK once upon a time spearheaded that effort through its influence in the organisation. But with this BREXIT move we are loosing the ability to influence the EU not only as our main trading partner but also as our main political & security partner in a world that is growing ever more complex and where nations are keen to be part of a regional block so ensure more influence on the global stage. Let me make this point clear; The strength of our influence in the EU contributes to our own strength as a major player in global affairs and without it we loose plenty of that influence. For countries that are encouraging that split it does make sense too because they will have more leverage whether politically or economically on this country more than they’ve ever had before – believe you me “there are no free rides around”.
More importantly let’s make our mind up one way or the other – again based on facts and an inclusive process – and then stop the whining that the eurosceptics have been voicing for years.
Whether or not you agree with my views I still appreciate/respect people like you willing to put country before politics/ideology.
Related posts
Other BREXIT related posts here