Do we have a say in the EU whilst a member?
This was the question posed in a recent comment online. It included a sidebar on immigration.
Actually yes we do. Other EU countries have made use of existing EU law to regulate the degree of migration. Successive UK governments chose not to.
I followed the immigration statistics for several years during the period of peak debate on the subject (see the ONS website). During that time it was more or less 50:50 EU/non EU. The level on non EU barely shifted during the time the Conservative governments were promising to slash numbers. The UK had full control over the migration of non EU migration yet did nothing about lowering it. Call me sceptical about it being the EU’s fault that the EU migration level didnt fall either.
Most of the most frequently complained about EU laws and policies in the UK were proposed by Westminster, lobbied for by our MEPs and voted for by them.
How many can name their EU constituency? How many their MEP? Know their MEP’s voting record? Watch or read the EU Parliament’s media? How many have contacted their MEP on an issue? How many bothered to vote in the EU elections? How many read at least a synopsis of the manifestos?
Ditto Westminster and their MP?
If you don’t engage in the political process, you tend to get the government you didn’t want.
This was the question posed in a recent comment online. It included a sidebar on immigration.
Actually yes we do. Other EU countries have made use of existing EU law to regulate the degree of migration. Successive UK governments chose not to.
I followed the immigration statistics for several years during the period of peak debate on the subject (see the ONS website). During that time it was more or less 50:50 EU/non EU. The level on non EU barely shifted during the time the Conservative governments were promising to slash numbers. The UK had full control over the migration of non EU migration yet did nothing about lowering it. Call me sceptical about it being the EU’s fault that the EU migration level didnt fall either.
Most of the most frequently complained about EU laws and policies in the UK were proposed by Westminster, lobbied for by our MEPs and voted for by them.
How many can name their EU constituency? How many their MEP? Know their MEP’s voting record? Watch or read the EU Parliament’s media? How many have contacted their MEP on an issue? How many bothered to vote in the EU elections? How many read at least a synopsis of the manifestos?
Ditto Westminster and their MP?
If you don’t engage in the political process, you tend to get the government you didn’t want.
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