Bass_Jacka wrote:magma wrote:I'll bite. What are your various reasons?
Firstly, I want out of the EU - UKIP are the only party that are addressing this issue. All other parties talk about reforming or reviewing our position in the EU - I want out, not a review of our position in the leechlike super-state that goes by the name of the European Union.
This is a valid reason, but one I don't agree with and your use of a term like "leechlike super-state" betrays your tabloid sensibilities. Let's lose the invective and try some facts. Over the past 50 years, the European Union (along with the UN, NATO, WHO, European Court of Human Rights and countless other organisations allowing countries to set standards and pull in similar directions) have led to hugely better living standards and freedoms for the average person in the street. Yes, we might have to call English Sparkling White Wine something other than Champagne these days and you might have to compete with a Pole to get a job, but we've had untold benefits.
Generally, isolationism is a bad thing. Looking at history, countries that close themselves off and create barriers to trade don't do nearly as well in the long term as ones that make friends and keep allies. They lose export trade. They have wars. They have economic crashes and nobody helps them out.
The EU isn't just an economic union. Prior to the first experiments into European union, the powerhouses of our continent were at war pretty routinely every 30 or 40 years. This culminated in two of the bloodiest wars humanity has ever seen. Since 1945, conflict between European nations is almost non-existent... even when something as awful as the breakup of Yugoslavia happened, the continent didn't descend into factionalism... if that had happened prior to the EU and NATO it would've most likely resulted in WW3.
- 71% of members of the Confederation of British Industry, the largest business organisation in the UK say that the EU has benefited their businesses. (78% would vote to stay in)
- £1.2 *TRILLION* has been invested in UK Businesses by EU members.
- The UK pays around 13.8bn/year including all duties, taxes and 'national contribution' to be part of the EU. To someone who doesn't often look at GDP-scale figures, this
sounds like a lot; but the UK exports around £8bn per
MONTH to the EU. Those exports would be vastly reduced if we left the EU as member states would be able to get most of the goods and services we export from other member nations without paying duty. The EU is *enormously* profitable for the UK economy and a great deal of our businesses would be crippled by us leaving. (See point 1)
- We
are Europeans. I know a lot of us Britons don't like to admit it, but we've only been an island for a couple of thousand years. We used to share territory with France. There is no political bloc on earth we belong to if we don't belong to Europe. The US don't want us as a 51st State. We no longer have an Empire to lean on. Our natural resources are becoming irrelevant in the modern world. If we turn our backs on Europe, we'll slowly get less and less vital until our country is sidelined and left out of a great deal of the progress happening in the world.
I'd like us to regain PROPER control of our own boarders - I'd like to see a points based system introduced, similar to Australia, America, New Zealand etc. - UKIP are offering this.
So are Labour and the Conservatives. Immigration will be a major issue in the upcoming election, however much 'lefties' (lovely stereotyping whilst complaining about stereotyping there) like me think that's a bit depressing.
I'd like to see FULL power of our country be brought back to Westminster - not syphoned off to someone in Brussels none of us voted for.
We do vote for our representatives in Brussels; you just showed off that UKIP had an MEP.
I don't agree with immigrants being able to claim benefits for their family members that don't even reside in the UK.
I have to say, I've never heard of this issue. Have you got some links or figures? How much does this happen and how much money is involved?
I'd like to see new immigrants to Britain having to support and finance themselves for the first 5 years of residency - UKIP are proposing this.
An immigrant arriving in the UK since 1999 is
45% less likely to receive any sort of benefit than a "native" Briton. In the past 15 years, immigration has made a net contribution to the nations finances, not a drain. The dispassionate fact is that we need immigrants to come in and pay taxes so that
Britons can receive benefits.
I'd like to see the tax threshold increased for lower earners.
So would I. So would Labour. So would the Lib Dems. So would the Greens.
I'd like to see social housing being offered to people who have a family connection with the area.
What does this mean? Councils work very hard to try and house people in appropriate locations. There's a big housing shortage in our country at the moment which probably means this is much harder that you think it is... it's certainly not for lack of trying.
I'd like to have a party in power that dumbs down the insane political correctness that's been indoctrinated into our society by previous governments.
Political correctness? You mean like not discriminating against fuzzy-wuzzies and adopting Chicken Tikka as the national dish? What exactly has "political correctness" ruined for you? Everyone says this... very few people actually seem to know what they mean by it.
I'd like to see British jobs go to British people first (regardless of said race or creed).
Fair enough. Again, ideological difference. I don't personally assume any birthright because I was born in the UK... I wasn't born in London, but I moved here to compete for the best jobs. If someone made the same move, but from Wroclaw rather than Bristol, it strikes me that they deserve the same chance. I didn't choose to be born here. I'm pretty sure you didn't either.
Now please, Magma, what exactly are your reasons for opposing UKIP - please humour me - and don't come back with the tired old crap about 'UKIP are racist' 'They're all bigots' - it's water off a ducks back now.
Now, as I said, please humour me
I
always humour people.
my bad but not that important either 
