I will be voting, and campaigning, for the UK to remain in the European Union.
The advantages of staying in the European Union far outweigh the benefits of leaving. Indeed, many of the arguments of the leave campaigns are based off speculation, with many of the country’s top economists contradicting each other on claims.
The EU is the UK’s largest single trading partner, accounting for almost half of our annual trade and providing 3.5 million jobs. Not only does this present blinding indication of the importance of the EU to our economy, but the trade that we do in the EU is all free. This means that withdrawing from the EU would result in almost half of our trade being susceptible to taxation, pushing up prices and limiting opportunity for small, medium and large businesses to develop. In addition to this, over 300,000 British companies and 74% of British exporters operate in the EU markets – hindering their ability to do so by leaving the EU seems not only counter-productive, but threatening to the stability of our economy.
The Home Secretary and Prime Minister have both made it clear that being a member of the EU has protected British citizens from terrorist attacks and criminal behaviour – something that was confirmed by the former Chief of MI5. The EU has also helped secure peace in Europe by consolidating democracy in Spain, Portugal, Greece and former Soviet bloc countries. In an increasingly hostile world, I cannot contemplate why anyone would want to break down these protections.
I consider the above two reasons the most important for us staying in the European Union. In reality, there are hundreds of other reasons to add to this list, many of which can be read on Stronger In’s website, of which I am a political champion: http://www.strongerin.co.uk/get_the_facts#8cqyfvKpozGVIkEk.97
If you would like to get involved with the In campaign then please feel free to get in touch with my office.