Britain leaving EU

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I'm no fan of UKIP but rest assured that 9 out of 10 British citizens who earn less than the median average salary will have more disposable income if Britain withdrew from the EU. Cheaper food from not having to implement the CAP and a VAT cut could be implemented almost immediately for starters.

There is also considerable opposition to the EU by people of non-European origin who would prefer better economic and political ties with countries outside of Europe, several of which have faster growing economies and are better markets for British products and services. The majority of British citizens of non-European origin have no interest in European countries bar a handful and neither do they have any desire to visit them. How often do you find British citizens of Indian origin wanting to live and work in Hungary or British citizens of Jamaican origin wanting to live and work in Finland? Very rarely.

If Britain leaves the EU I can see it resulting in chaos with the many expats like me living in Europe. At the moment the UK gov't continues to pay state pensions to expats who have moved to live elsewhere within the EU - if they stop this then I can see a huge influx of expats back to Blighty. There are also other reciprocal treaties that may go tits up too... France and England have mutual health care for each other's citizens as part of the EU. The right to live and work in other EU countries may also be stopped. Again more reasons for a huge number of expats to return to the UK. Just what the UK needs... tens if not hundreds of thousands of expats suddenly being forced back to the UK. As most wouldn't be able to sell their homes in Europe very quickly (the market would tank) many would arrive back at the UK homeless. Chaos, total unmitigated chaos would ensue.

Britain is like the NYC of the EU!

Personally, although I'm anti-EU on the basis that it is pushing towards neoliberal policies and that its institutions are undemocratic and unaccountable (especially the EC). That said there's not much difference in terms of democracy between being dictated to from neoliberals in the EU and being dictated to from racist neoliberals in parliament, if Ukip has their way. We may have representatives in parliament but it's pretty clear that the balance of power is heavily at the top of all established parties and policy is decided at the top, by people who live in a different world. Even Labour which ostensibly has a party democracy is fully willing to ignore the membership - like when the conference voted overwhelmingly to renationalise rail last year and the leadership basically ignored it.

Leaving the EU would not be a meaningful step in itself without democratic reforms.