The #LibDem Fightback

Maybe I will soon stop blogging here as sadly, Brexit looms and the referendum has come and gone.  Or I may continue as I still have a voice, as does the rest of the 48% who voted to stay.  

This morning I got chatting with a friendly young barista.  The subject of his travel plans came up.  He had been reading that Brexit would make them more complex and was unimpressed.  'I wanted to remain in the EU ' he said,  'but I didn't vote'.  In his next breath he told me that several of his mates voted to leave as a joke.  They didn't think it would happen.  Well, it has and it is not a laughing matter.  Welcome to the dysfunctional world that is Brexit Britain.  

Fortunately, the LibDem Fightback is well under way.  And I am proud to be part of it.  I write this fresh from the Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference and with renewed enthusiasm for the EU cause. 

If you want to hear about the Liberal Democrat Plan carry on reading.  It's great news. Since the referendum we've seen some incredible momentum. We've gained almost 20,000 members, and since the election of Theresa May as PM we have won eighteen by-elections with huge swings.

If you also want to fight for an open, tolerant and united Britain, who want to be the real opposition to this Conservative Brexit Government, then join the Liberal Democrats today.  Go to our website now: www.libdems.org.uk/join

Here are some of our Newbury Liberal Democrat team with the Leader, Tim Farron, second left. 

At conference, Tim Farron explained our plan for where we, as a country go from here, in terms of Brexit and the politics of fear, division and hate.

He began with a story from just after the referendum.  At the start of his speech, he spoke about a meeting held in Preston, the town where he grew up and learnt his values, to talk about the referendum and the realisation he'd had there.  He said 'The people in that church hall in Preston, they'd voted differently to me (ie to leave) but I thought, you know what, we're on the same side here.

We see a London-centric no, Westminster-centric approach from politicians and the media. Treating the provinces as alien curiosities.

Those people in Preston and Sunderland and Newport see a divide between those who win and those who lose. When the country is booming, they don't see the benefit. And when the country is in decline they are the first to be hit.  Those people ... wanted, quite understandably, to give the powerful a kicking. So they did.' 

At that meeting they talked about low wages. About poor housing. About strains on hospitals and schools. Their problems weren't caused by the European Union, they were caused by powerful people who took them for granted.

By politicians who have spent decades chasing cheap headlines and short-term success for their political careers, and never acting in the long-term interests of the whole country.

Tim then set out how he wants to reach out to Leave voters... ' I wanted Britain to remain in the European Union and I still do. But we have got to listen, to learn and to understand why millions of people voted to leave. We can't just tell them they're wrong and stick our fingers in our ears.

So I want to do two things.

I want to persuade those who voted leave that we understand and respect their reasons, that we are determined to take head on the things about today’s Britain that have left so many people feeling ignored and I want to give them their say over what comes next.

The Liberal Democrats have a plan. We know what we want and we know where we want to take our country. When Theresa May does agree a deal with the EU, we want the people to decide.

Not a re-run of the referendum, not a second referendum, but a referendum on the terms of the as-yet-unknown Brexit deal.'

So, that's the first part of the plan, here is the second.  It concerns NHS and social care in England. 

About this Tim said  'For years, politicians have chosen to paper over the cracks rather than come clean about what it will really take – what it will really cost – not just to keep the NHS afloat but to give people the care and the treatment that they deserve.  And that means, finally, bringing the NHS and the social care system together.  We need to face the hard truth that the NHS needs more money – a lot more money – not just to stop it lurching from crisis to crisis but so that it can meet the needs and the challenges it will face in the years ahead. So that it can be the service we all need it to be for the long-term. That means having the most frank and honest conversation about the NHS that the country has ever had. What Beveridge did for the 20th century, we need for the 21st century.  We need to face the hard truth that the NHS needs more money – a lot more money.  We will go to the British people with the results of our Beveridge Commission and we will offer a new deal for health and social care, honest about the cost, bold about the solution. If the only way to fund a health service that meets the needs of everyone, is to raise taxes, Liberal Democrats will raise taxes.' 

The third part of the plan is simply this; we have a message for everyone who wants a real opposition to the Tories.  Whichever party you supported at the last election, we all know that Britain needs a decent, united opposition. So if Corbyn’s Labour has left the stage, then we will take the stage.  Britain needs a strong opposition. The Liberal Democrats will be that strong opposition.

This is LibDem plan to build a Britain that's open, tolerant and united....  

I had some concerns about the democratic validity of another referendum.  I submitted a question to Tim Farron and to my amazement I was chosen to ask it.  

I asked Tim 'is a second referendum democratic?'  Tim replied that it was a great democratic oppurtunity, for people to have their say when the facts about the exit deal where known.  I then asked the supplementary question 'How would a person who voted to leave first time round and then also voted leave second time round would feel if the results of the referendum of the terms of the deal was such that the deal was rejected and we remained in the EU?'  

Tim Farron is convinced that this would still be a healthy situation democratically and had me convinced when he said that we would never forgive ourselves if our kids said to us in twenty years time 'Why didn't you do something? You didn't fight brexit hard enough'. 

The LibDem Fightback is well under way. Join us
www.libdems.org.uk/join

Reference

http://www.libdems.org.uk/tim-farron-autumn-conference-16

Debate

Today is the day I am going to see the debate on the need for a second refendum.  Have been looking forward to it, despite the fact there will be no vote and no further stage.  This makes a bit of a mockery of the whole thing but I hope to learn things.  

It is also the day to take the sewing machine to the person who has more current need of it than me. Yes, the Art Historian.  So I set off on an adventure by taxi, (only discovered at the bus stop that my bus was cut; there wasn't enough public opposition is the official line, but I for one could not back buses ahead of kids and mental health, so thanks to austerity, the only winners are the taxi drivers), train (15 mins late) and shanks pony.  I have tea and wait for her outside the RA.  You can just see the lawn to the right. It replaces the monstrosity and is more pleasant on the eye. However, it is for cinema screenings, the like of which cannot be afforded by the AH's generation. 

The third important thing about today is that it is, or would be my lovely Mum's 86th birthday. I am wearing the hedgehog charm which I saved from her charm bracelet.  I sold the latter, on her instructions; she knew I'm not a bracelet person.  I remember all the years we bought her charms for special occasions.  Happy times. 

After a nice lunch I walk through St. James's Park to Westminster. 

I queue ten minutes for a pass and then here I am.  The wonderful Gothic building is inspiring, easy to access and well worth a visit.  The cafe is reasonable to my surprise.  

I am transfixed for two hours.  There will be no consequences, no vote, no referral to the House of Commons, nada.  So in that respect the public are short changed, as Caroline Lucas says to me afterwards.  To my surprise, I do a U-turn.   Here is the message I just posted for our StrongerIn page.

  

Hello All, I have just been to the debate on the petition calling for a second referendum.  It was SO interesting.  I even got to talk to Caroline Lucas at the end.  She, Chuka Umunna and David Lammy made all the points we have made in the past very eloquently.  I have, however, come away feeling differently about things.  I feel that any parliamentary vote or second referendum is treating the 52% with disdain and smacks of metropolitan elitism.  I do believe we should push for access to the single market, the right to remain for EU citizens living here and for that 350 million for the NHS.  I think this will be my focus.  I know the manifesto group said 'stop Brexit' but it said all this stuff too; I am not divorcing you lot!  That Ian Paisley character said 'careful what you wish for' and I see a lot of unrest if the 48% get this wrong.  What do people think?  Of course I may wake up feeling a little different......

So now it is homewards on a train which, miraculously is running to time!  

Join the 48%

I awoke on Friday and realised my nightmare was a reality. Scotland, Ireland, London and a few other places including West Berkshire, where we live, had voted to Remain in the EU but the national result was for 'Brexit'.

The scenario many people on the Remain side had predicted had been labelled 'Project Fear' but now it is 'Project Reality'.   Markets are tumbling, David Cameron has offered his resignation and Nicola Sturgeon is preparing for a second referendum on Scottish Independence. 

Right wing Politicians in France and Holland have begun crying out for their own referendums.  

The 'United Kingdon' and the European Union itself is beginning to fall apart.

I campaigned for Remain and was shocked to discover how angry people are. They are fed up with not being able to get appointments with GPs, not being able to get school places and a shortage of housing. Leave's effective but meaning less slogan 'take back control' seduced them. But it was and is a lie. 

People feel ignored by Westminster politicians, exploited by big employers and badly let down. The real problem is that government funding has not met the demands of the increased population. Our public services have been squeezed by Tory policies.  Now the right wing of the government will be in charge and I fear what Leave voters wished for will not come true. On the contrary 'decent people' as Nigel Farage calls them will be even more ignored and the big corporations who run the world will continue to avoid tax and award themselves big bonuses. 

What does not help matters is that our two major political parties are in disarray and fighting amongst themselves. Meanwhile, having pretty much sacrificed themselves for economic stability in 2010, the Liberal Democrats were nearly wiped out at the last election. Now we are the only party which is united and tolerant.

I am asking all those who supported us and voted Remain to consider joining the Liberal Democrats and helping us locally and nationally. 

This referendum result will affect us all for the rest of our lives so let's come together to build an effective opposition. 
Contact details are as follows 

https://libdems.secure.force.com/LiberalDemocrats/NewMemberRegistration

The EU and immigration

Whilst working in the Stronger In campaign I have noticed that people are very concerned about immigration.  I wanted to find out whether their fear that EU nationals are taking British jobs and keeping UK wages low is justified.  I Consulted an article by Alan Travis in The Guardian, 21 May.

The Office of National Statistics reports that while the numbers of EU workers in Britain has risen by 700,000 since 2013, they are outnumbered by the extra one million Britons who have gone into employment in the same period. The number of British citizens working in the UK labour force is now 28 million. That compares with 3 million foreign nationals.

As the economist Jonathan Portes has pointed out, there is not a fixed number of jobs to go round: “It’s true that, if an immigrant takes a job, then a British worker can’t take that job, but it doesn’t mean he or she won’t find another one that may have been created, directly or indirectly, as a result of immigration.”

EU migrants more than pay their way. Those who arrived in Britain in the last four years paid £2.54bn more in income tax and national insurance than they received in tax credits or child benefit in 2013-14. The Office of Budget Responsibility has estimated that their labour contribution is helping to grow the economy by an additional 0.6% a year.

But, what about the claim that immigrants are depressing wages, particularly for the low-paid?

The most recent research from the centre for economic performance at the London School of Economics shows that areas of the UK with large increases in EU immigration did not suffer greater falls in the jobs and pay of UK born workers. The big falls in wages after 2008 are due to the global financial crisis and a weak economic recovery, not to immigration.

Several studies have shown a small negative effect of migration on the wages of low-skilled workers in certain sectors in certain parts of the country, particularly care workers, shop assistants, and restaurant and bar workers. The effect has been measured at less than 1% over a period of eight years.

The LSE’s Jonathan Wadsworth said: “The bottom line, which may surprise many people, is that EU immigration has not harmed the pay, jobs or public services enjoyed by Britons. In fact, for the most part it has likely made us better off."

Would Brexit make any difference? 

John Van Reenen, co-author of the LSE study, says: “The immigration impact hinges on the post-Brexit trade deal, if we go for a deal like Norway or Switzerland, immigrant numbers won’t change much, as free movement of labour is part of the package. But if we go for a looser trading arrangment, we lose out much more from falls in trade and foreign investment,” he said.

I hope this will reassure those readers who are concerned about this matter.  It seems immigration is good for our country.  So is EU membership.  It is the best way for us to ensure peace and prosperity.  

British, European or Both?

To quote the New York Times, finding economists who say they believe that a Brexit will spur the British economy is like looking for a doctor who thinks forswearing vegetables is the key to a long life.

However, whilst I was  leafleting for Stronger In in Northbrook Street last Saturday, the passers-by favouring Brexit seemed more concerned about issues other than the economy.

 Again quoting the New York Times, it seems an argument over British identity is masquerading as an economic debate.  This is about much more than economic union to most people.  As the referendum approaches, the politics of identity are colliding with the economics of global trade.  People are concerned about our sovereignty. I struggled to understand what that word meant, no one talked about it before David Cameron decided to hold this referendum.   I consulted wikipedia.  I learnt that Sovereignty is understood in jurisprudence as 'the full right and power of a governing body to govern itself without any interference from outside sources or bodies'. 

 Time and again and again people said they did not like being told what to do by Brussels.  I wonder if their concerns are really justified.  Brussels does not control us.  The European Parliament is directly elected by us just like the Westminster Parliament.  In many ways the European Parliament is more democratic than Westminster.  It has better methods of ensuring that controversial legislation is not automatically agreed.  As a former Conservative UK minister once said. “It is very hard to find an EU regulation of significance that has been forced on an unwilling British minister who voted against it”. Nothing is passed unless all member countries have explicitly agreed by treaty to do so and even then, each piece of legislation must be agreed by national governments. For tax and foreign affairs, the requirement for this agreement is complete unanimity, and in other areas, there is a very high ‘qualified majority’ threshold.  People accuse the EU of bureaucracy yet The European Commission has fewer employees than a medium-sized city council in the UK. So we are not controlled by Brussels; we are equal participants in a union.  

The European Commission doesn’t make laws. It only makes proposals, which are then debated, amended and passed (or rejected) by elected national governments and directly-elected MEPs. Only 13.2% of laws affecting the UK have been agreed at European level in the past 20 years. 

EU legislation is an exercise in cutting red tape. We need common rules for the common market to protect workers, consumers and the environment.  Instead of 28 divergent sets of national rules we have a single set of pan-European rules.  

I hope this will reassure some readers that it is OK to be part of the EU, which is not a massive control freak organisation wishing to suffocate us, but a trading union of fellow Europeans.  And what can be wrong with being European?  When it boils down to it we are all descended form the Romans, French and Vikings with perhaps a hint of Spanish Armada here and there.  

Not since the fall of the Berlin Wall has Europe confronted such a profound question about it's future.   I really hope people realise we really are safer, better off and stronger in the European Union, which will surely destabilise if we leave. 

Photo

Financial Experts are now imploring us to remain in the EU

A vote to leave the EU next month could precipitate a stock market crash and steep fall in house prices, the International Monetary Fund has warned.

Christine Lagarde, the IMF managing director, who was in London on thiscweek to present the fund’s annual health check on the UK economy, delivered this dire warning. 

“We have looked at all the scenarios. We have done our homework and we haven’t found anything positive to say about a Brexit vote,” she said.

The Bank of England has also given a starkest warning that a UK vote to leave the EU could hit the economy.  Mark Carney, the Bank's governor, warned that the risks of leaving "could possibly include a technical recession".  The latest minutes from the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) said that a leave vote may cause both growth and sterling to fall and unemployment to rise. 

Chancellor George Osborne said the UK now had a "clear and unequivocal warning" about the risks of a Leave vote, 

These warnings are very clear and support earlier expert forecasts.  

Our businesses and inward investors are emphatic: Britain must stay in.  85% of British manufacturers want us to remain in EU.  The Federation of Small Businesses  (FSB)  argued in 2014 that the EU is good for business: 20% of members of the FSB trade overseas. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is a strong advocate for EU membership. The head of the UK government’s export credit guarantee agency reports that EU membership is “critical” for exporting around the world. A group of top free-market economists pointed out in 2014 that UK withdrawal from the EU would be a “grave threat” and would cause foreign investment to dry up. The Institute of Directors, Financial sector of the City of London and British Chamber of Commerce all support remaining in the EU. 

More about markets 

The EU is the world’s biggest single market; it is the UK’s biggest trading partner, accounting for over half of our world exports. We export more to Holland alone than to the entirety of the Commonwealth.  EU countries provide about two thirds of incoming goods and services.  An independent poll of the top 500 British Businesses in 2015 found that 99% of boardroom bosses want to remain in the EU.  Our government estimates that EU membership is worth £3000 a year to every British family. And the budget for the whole EU is just 1% of GDP, compared to about 49% spent by national governments. That’s just 2% of our public spending each year.  Each country’s contribution to the EU budget is proportional to its wealth: wealthier countries pay more. Over the 7-year cycle 2007-2013 our net annual contribution was about £63 per person (£3.8 billion). The UK’s contribution is much lower than other similar sized economies such as Germany and France, partly because we get a special rebate.  The financial benefits of access to the single market are estimated to be £30-£90 bn/year: a return on investment of 800% - 2370%.  

The EU and Womens' Rights

The Labour MP Harriet Harman claimed this week that  Brexit could derail the fight for women’s rights.

Harriet, who has been a leading campaigner on gender equality for four decades, said the EU had been the key to forcing through a series of reforms, including on equal pay, maternity rights and paternity leave.  She explained that the EU had demanded that female cleaners working for British councils had to be paid as well as male binmen, who had much better rates negotiated by their union. 

See

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/may/12/brexit-could-derail-fight-for-womens-rights-says-harriet-harman

Banana myths

It is time to get lighthearted now.  There are a lot of myths about the EU, which I will attempt to cover in future posts but I feel the need to keep it fun today.  The idea that Brussels has a ban on bendy bananas is one of the EU’s most persistent myths. 

Bananas have always been classified by quality and size for international trade. Because the standards, set by individual governments and the industry, were confusing, the European Commission was asked to draw up new rules.  Thus regulation 2257/94 states that bananas in general should be “free from malformation or abnormal curvature”. Those sold as “extra class” must be perfect, “class 1” can have “slight defects of shape” and “class 2” can have full-scale “defects of shape”.

So now you know. 

For more info see http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/may/11/boris-johnson-launches-the-vote-leave-battlebus-in-cornwall

United in Europe, Safer together

With fewer than fifty days until we vote on the UK’s membership of the European Union, the anti-European camp still can’t count one major ally or international independent body as a backer of Brexit.

Their endorsements to date come from the leader of the National Front in France, Trump in America and Putin in Russia and stand in stark contrast to the Remain camp supporters who have come out in droves.  

From the Prime Ministers of India, Australia, New Zealand and Japan and President Obama to the IMF, World Bank and five former NATO chiefs, our allies have made it clear that we thrive when we play a leading role in Europe.  President Obama said 

'From the ashes of war, those who came before us had the foresight to create the international institutions and initiatives to sustain a prosperous peace: the United Nations and Nato; Bretton Woods, the Marshall Plan, and the European Union. Their efforts provided a foundation for democracy, open markets, and the rule of law, while underwriting more than seven decades of relative peace and prosperity in Europe.'

On the ninth of May the Prime Minister drew on a pageant of historical episodes, from the Roman empire to the fall of the Berlin Wall to argue that Britain’s destiny is inextricably bound up with Europe’s, and voting to remain in the EU on the twenty third of June is the patriotic choice.

In response, Polly Toynbee writing in the Guradian on the tenth of May said 

'At last here was a sense of the gigantic, existential nature of this decision. Who are we, what do we want to be, where do we belong? Look up beyond this year’s wallet to the far future.'

I agree with Polly; this is about more than economics, more than immigration; it is about peace and unity instead of division.  Because with division comes mistrust.  None of the EU members wants us to leave, how will they feel if we do?  What will they think?  

It is only seventy three years since my father's plane was shot down by a fellow European.  Fortunately he bailed out successfully and I am here to tell the tale.  After two years as a prisoner of war he returned, according to accounts, a changed man.  

Even in the sixties the scars of war remained.  I remember, as a child, being driven through Manchester to visit relative in the north of the city.  All around me I saw the persistent bomb damaged sites and felt really sad that this could have happenend.  I do not want the tragedy of my father's generation to be in vain.  

Plesse vote to remain in the EU on June 23rd.  

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Brexit: Medical care could step back in time

Writing in the British Medical Journal on 22 April, Kosmas Paraskevas, a vascular surgeon from Newcastle-upon-Tyne explained how Brexit could threaten doctors’ working time.  This could have a direct detrimental impact on patient care. 

 

The Working Time Directive provides EU workers with the right to work no more than 48 hours per week. This was introduced to protect the safety and health of workers, and in this example, the health of their patients too.  As  “Brexit” could force hundreds of overseas doctors to leave the UK, this could mean that the EU Directive 48 hour week maximum working time might no longer be sustainable for doctors. An increase of the remaining doctors’ working time could become necessary to counterbalance this shortage of doctors.

 

It is known that long  working hours are associated with an increase in often fatal medical errors, and indeed this comes as no surprise.  It is a long time since I was a hospital doctor but I have not forgotten the nightmare of being on continuous call from Friday morning to Monday evening and from one weekday morning to the following evening.  Patients were less questioning of the service in those days.  Nowadays they expect and deserve better than to be faced by an exhaused young doctor when at their most vulnerable.  We cannot step back in time to the bad old days. 

The Environment will be safer if we #Remain in the EU

In 2014 the European Union approved funding for eleven environmental projects across the UK under the LIFE+ programme, the EU's environment fund. The projects cover actions in nature conservation, climate change, environmental policy, and information and communication on environmental issues.

EU funding for these projects shows that being IN Europe is essential if we are to tackle climate change and protect our environment. The projects will make a vital contribution to preservation and conservation, and will help in achieving sustainable growth in a low carbon and resource efficient economy. 

Immigration is a major issue in the EU Referendum Campaign: Let us remember the EU is a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize

First some facts

Immigration 

In 2011, there were 7.5 million foreign-born residents in the UK, corresponding to 11.9 per cent of the total population.  A 2010 estimate shows that 4.76 million (7.7 per cent) were born outside the EU and 2.24 million (3.6 per cent) were born in another EU member state. (source : wikipedia)

Emigration

A spokesperson from the Migration Observatory, told the More or Less programme on Radio 4, that  1.2 million UK born people live elsewhere in the EU.  So, as far EU citizens are concerned there is net immigration to the UK.  This is not the whole picture.  5 million British citizens leave elsewhere in non EU states such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US.  

So, 7.5 million came in and 6.2 million went out.  Thus we have approximately 1.3 million extra people.  What is the problem?  

Few of us are openly racist, many of us are interested in other cultures and languages but many of us are also concerned by over crowding and some feel there are too many people here competing for over stretched public services and the infrastructure.  Perhaps the answer is to improve these to meet the demand and keep the economy going.  On the other hand, the Leave Campaign would have us believe that leaving the EU will 'give us back control of our borders'.   Actually it might not.  More of this in a minute, let's first examine if these 1.3 million extra people are a cause for concern.  

But first note that British people are the EU's biggest beneficiaries of the right to settle anywhere in the EU, more British people live in other EU countries than any other nationality! And there are nearly as many Brits living elsewhere in the EU as there are other EU nationals in Britain.  Only 3.6% of the UK population is from another EU country. Most migration in the UK is from outside the EU, which means freedom of movement rules don’t apply and it’s completely up to the British government how to manage this migration.  Nearly half of the immigrants moving to the UK in 2013 were non-EU nationals.  

EU migrants are net contributors to the economy. Between 2001 and 2011, they contributed 34% more in taxes than they took out in benefits and services. Compared to the UK average, EU migrants are more highly educated, more likely to be employed, and much less likely to claim benefits.  13% of working age British claim benefits as opposed to 5% of EU migrants.   The latter paid in via taxes about 30% more than they cost our public services.

 

In a major economic modelling exercise involving nine different post Brexit policy scenarios, Oxford Economics said that in its best case scenario the UK’s GDP would be just 0.1 per cent lower by 2030 and income per head of population could actually rise by £40. But that benign outcome would only be achieved if the Government did not cut European Union net migration substantially.   It would also be dependent on ministers signing a trade deal with the EU severely limiting the UK’s ability to make its own bilateral trade deals with other non-European countries. Britain would also have to continue to make contributions to the EU’s budget.  “The long-term impact of Brexit need not be severe. But benign scenarios involve retaining aspects of EU membership: continued high immigration, restrictions on our ability to make trade deals with non-EU countries and continuing to pay money to Brussels,” said Henry Worthington of Oxford Economics.

In other words, something is being made into a problem when it isn't one.  In my view it presents a simplistic argument which appeals to the not so nice side of human nature.  But that is just an opinion. 

True, this is just the economic aspect of immigration.  Perhaps Brexit would make worse the threat to the UK from terrorism? Richard Dearlove, the former head of MI6 believes that Brexit would allow the UK “greater control over immigration from the EU”.  But how significant are migrants from Europe to the terrorist threat in or against the UK?  During Mr Dearlove's stance as head of MI6 from 1999 until 2004, the flow of extremism was more from the UK to the EU than vice versa. 

The modern day threats to Britain's security are global in nature.  Being in Europe, working with our closest neighbours and partners to tackle these threats, makes Britain safer.   The European Arrest Warrant means terrorism suspects can be easily extradited from EU countries back to the UK.  

Europol is the EU’s crime-fighting body and helps British police exchange crucial information and coordinate investigations.  Hussein Osman, a terrorist involved in the attempted bomb attack on London in July 2005, is one of over 400 criminals who have been returned to face justice in Britain under the European Arrest Warrant after fleeing to Europe.  

Sharing  intelligence about terrorists and arresting them using the European Arrest Warrant are examples of this.  Leaving Europe would threaten our safety. We are stronger and more secure as part of Europe than on our own.  

It is no coincidence that there has been peace and cooperation in Europe ever since the first faltering steps were taken which ultimately gave birth to the EU.  The EU is a concept which binds us together and smooths out conflict.  As someone whose parents were deeply affected in many ways by the brutality of the Second World War, to me this is the most important case for remaining in the EU, 'warts and all'.  My father bailed out of a disabled air craft and has the silken thread of a parachute to thank for his remaining forty six years.  Two of these were spent as a prisoner in Germany, an experience which changed him fundamentally.  Unimaginable in this day and age, but it could happen again if the continent were destabilised.  

After the war, European integration was seen as an antidote to the extreme nationalism which had devastated the continent.  The 1948 Hague Congress was a pivotal moment in European history, as it led to the creation of the European Movement International and of the College of Europe, where Europe's future leaders would live and study together.  In 1957, The Treaty of Rome was signed by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany.  This created the European Economic Community, which was transformed in the European Union by the Maastricht Treaty of 1993.  Since then the membership has grown and now consists of twenty eight nations.  

In 2012, the EU received the Nobel Peace Prize for having "contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy, and human rights in Europe."

All parts of the political spectrum muster support for remaining in EU

I haven't blogged about the EU for a while, but now it's time to step up my campaign.  I have been busy on a related matter: improving my skills in a European language!  I had a deadline for my Spanish module and now it's done.  Trato hecho as we say in Spain.  The other thing I've been up to is that I've been home to Manchester!  How lovely that was!  

And by the way, Manchester's Metrolink tram network has recently enjoyed considerable expansion work part funded by a major European grant. The investment paved the wave for a brand new line of tram track, two new platforms and two sets of stairs which link to Deansgate railway station by a newly modernised pedestrian bridge.  A £10.8 million grant from the European Regional Development Fund, was granted following a successful funding bid by Transport for Greater Manchester.  The grant is also helping fast-track the first stage of Metrolink’s Second City Crossing line through the city. It is hoped the work will be completed in 2017.  Let us hope this is there will be many more such EU grants to help the UK infrastructure. 

As I crossed the road, while gawping in wonder at the trams, which were not there when I was a girl, I thought for a moment,'what side do they drive on here?'.  It struck me that a Northern city is nearly as 'different' to me now from my Berkshire market town as Cádiz, my favourtie Spanish location.   I really want to celebrate and enjoy these 'differences', why on earth should we withdraw from the EU and thus psychologically distance ourselves from our friends further South?  And where would that distancing end?  Why leave?  Why not stay and promote reform as all leaders of all the main political parties suggest? (Excluding UKIP of course)   The US president and International Monetary Fund also urge us to stay.  

So what's been happening?  I will look at what the Brexiters have been saying in another post soon.  For now I am pleased to see that Jeremy Corbyn this week made a speech stressing the need to remain in the EU to boost workers’ rights, tackle climate change and crack down on corruption.

Speaking to an audience of Labour-supporting students and trade unionists in London, he repeatedly pointed to the shortcomings of the EU in its present form, but said he wanted to forge alliances with leftwing parties across Europe to reform it.

“You can’t build a better world unless you engage with the world,” the Labour leader said, urging young people to “make sure you register to vote, and vote to keep the UK in Europe in June”, and warning that a Conservative government would take the opportunity of Brexit to slash protection for workers, in a “bonfire of rights”.

With the campaign officially launched yesterday, and polls showing the contest to close to call, this message seems particularly pressing. 

Safer In

A dossier of murders and rapes committed by fifty EU criminals in Britain has been published by Vote Leave. This is dark and scary. What are we supposed to think and to what human characteristics does this tactic appeal? The dossier plays on voters’ fears.  Yet, I expect some of our own bad guys are commiting crimes in Europe to balance all this.  The dossier is published amid a series of high-profile interventions about Brexit’s negative impact on energy, farming and the NHS.

Damian Green, the former Conservative immigration minister, said Vote Leave’s argument “makes no sense” and was “a mix of chaos and confusion”. He added “We are able to stop suspects from travelling to the UK and since 2010 we have refused entry to almost 6,000 EU nationals'

Chuka Umunna, Labour MP, said one of the terrorists involved in the July 2005 attacks in London had been returned to face justice through the European arrest warrant. “

Sir Hugh Orde, former president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, added that membership of the EU was vital to Britain’s security. “Using the European arrest warrant we have deported 7,000 suspects from the UK and brought hundreds back to face justice on British soil, and working together through Europol we share intelligence in real time on violent criminals across the EU. Leaving would put this all at risk.”