In 1976 I voted to join mainly because the leaders of the No campaign were a motley crew. And for most of the 40 years since I've been pro EU mainly because I didn't want to be on the side of the Eurosceptics. Didn't want to be associated with the little Englanders, racists and buffoons.
I certainly don't believe that they've been right all along. Or that we should quit the EU over issues like immigration or our contribution to the budget. But I do think that the EU is no longer fit for purpose. The expansion to 28 countries would have been fine if it were still a loose trading bloc, but not when the aim is some sort of federal state. The Euro has been an unmitigated disaster, particularly for countries like Greece, and I can only see more and more such crises.
I don't for a minute believe that if we leave the EU everything will be fine and dandy. I think the next 10 years will be grim. But in the longer term it might be better than staying in the madhouse.
Did you swallow the daily mail handbook? Migrants put in far more than they take out. In other words the uk would be worse off without them!.
Please could you provide the stats for EU only immigrants? I've seen that bandied around for all immigration (not that I believe it) but we have measures to check that immigrants from outside the EU have a job to go to.
How do unskilled immigrants help the UK economy?Did you swallow the daily mail handbook? Migrants put in far more than they take out. In other words the uk would be worse off without them!.
That report states the value of skilled workers, not unskilled ones, I'd prefer to be able to choose the former.http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/nov/05/eu-migrants-uk-gains-20bn-ucl-study
Cold hard facts are impossible to find, it will just be study x reported this, study y reported that.
Just google and read everything you want, if it's all opinion pieces with no cold facts I try to read both sides and extrapolate a view in the middle.
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/nov/05/eu-migrants-uk-gains-20bn-ucl-study
Cold hard facts are pretty much impossible to find, it will just be study x reported this, study y reported that.
Just google and read everything you want, if it's all opinion pieces with no cold facts I try to read both sides and extrapolate a view in the middle.
How do you fix a problem like the Middle East?
How does the EU do it?
The EU is dealing with an issue made in Washington, in Moscow, in tel Aviv , in Riyadh, in Ankara, in Tehran etc. Now much of the EU has been party to it but it is ridiculous to think the EU can solve it, it is a problem of the whole northern hemisphere (Aus can take some blame too) and needs a solution as such.
The EUs choice is condemn people to death and allow turkey , Jordan etc to collapse or work together to share the burden and push Russia and the US much harder
The EU let alone member states has as much chance of doing this as you do of ensuring Real Madrid win the title this year sadly
The EU could do better but it is being fucked by global powers and regional powers playing power games
That only considers the tax take from immigrants vs what they receive in welfare.
That report states the value of skilled workers, not unskilled ones, I'd prefer to be able to choose the former.