Question for Remainers

[7salmonswimming]

Can you please tell me why you want to Remain?

Discourse is charged right now, there’s a lot of fact and non-fact swirling around. So apart from the single market and trade benefits (which I think are massive but probably misunderstood by most, because there’s so much detail), why do you want to Remain? Thinking back to when you cast your vote: fear of change? Feel European? Ease of travel? Married to an EU citizen?

We hear a lot of questioning of Brexiters’ motives, not much about

Full disclosure: I don’t live in the UK. I think what’s happening in the EU augers well for what is happening elsewhere in the world.

[7salmonswimming]

not much about Remainers’* [missing word, sorry]

[BedHair]

Well, why don't you tell us which way you voted, or would have voted were you able/entitled, and why., and then maybe people will feel like sharing?

[MedicinalGin]

For me, Remain means retaining the status quo. Brexit was too vaguely described with no substantive or compellingly qualified evidence for me to choose to actively break that status quo. Therefore, I felt Remain was the only choice I could make.

[MedicinalGin]

While I’m here, I really want to rant about the term ‘Remainer’. It implies that it’s a camp that I actively chose to be in and identify with and that, therefore I must be at odds with ‘leavers’. It’s just so simplistic and aggressive. OP it makes you come across as goody and patronising and I’m hoping that you didn’t mean it that way.

[MadeForThis]

I want to remain because I live in Northern Ireland and want to raise my DD's in peace not war.

I have zero trust in the British Government to act in the best interests of the people. With involvement from the EU there are guidelines and rules they must follow. Human rights, workers protections etc.

Successive governments have stripped the NHS, destroyed the benefits system and I believe this would only get worse.

[FairyLightBlanket45]

I voted remain because there was no plan. It was a rushed last minute strategy to get elected which I honestly don’t believe most politicians thought would pass.
Had a true Bexit been discussed and deals been made in the event of a Leave vote, and the situation properly explained and financed, I would have considered leave.
I like however having the freedom to travel many places without issue. The option to work abroad (which I used). No lines at customs on arrival.
Bigger for me was some EU laws - maternity rights, annual leave etc come from EU law and I was (and am!) worried about these rights being removed and ending up like America where you are entitled to sweet F all.

The ultimate for me was the promise of “350 million pounds a week extra money for the NHS”. What a load of bollocks and completely whacky statement - wasn’t believable in the slightest and I think Nigel UKIP confirmed that it was a lie after Brexit was voted.

I’m optimistic though - I feel like we will certainly go through some sort of crash and rocky time but we will pick ourselves up and I can almost see other countries leaving now too.... (I’m a hopeful person who tries to stay positive!)

[Sethis]

I voted Remain because I'm English, yet live and work in Europe 9 months of the year.

My job depends on my ability to freely travel between countries. Without that, I'm totally fucked.

And for what reason are we throwing that away? Effectively because the Daily Fail hates brown people. Seems rational.

[MardyBra]

70 years of post war peace under threat.

Single market and customs union - around 45% of our exports are to the EU. JIT deliveries essential for many businesses like the automotive industry. Jobs are already being lost in many sectors and there will be masses more.

Freedom of movement - vital for many businesses to recruit staff and also the NHS. Could lose visa-free travel

Trade deals already negotiated with rest of the world via the EU. To replicate those will take years and we do not have sufficient experienced negotiators.

Free medical cover (EHIC)

Environmental protections/clean beach legislation

Employee protections

Academic collaboration and funding. Erasmus

Consumer rights

Rural development fund

No roaming fees on mobile phones.

All likely to be ditched for some vague notion of "taking back control" when we could already have blue passports or sending back migrants who had no employment after three months if we'd wanted to.

Oh and the fuckers lied and broke electoral law.

[MardyBra]

Oh, I forgot to add the rights of EU27 citizens living here being eroded. Many of them have been here for decades with British spouses/families, paying taxes and making huge contributions to society.

[Quietrebel]

Yeah but you see we're just queue jumpers apparently.

[1tisILeClerc]

The UK needed to remain as the world is a big and dangerous place and very few countries as small as the UK can expect to thrive.
The 'Empire' is long gone, but being part of the EU where we were ranked with Germany, France, The Netherlands etc we were pretty much in the 'driving seat'.
British innovation through collaboration has kept us at the top table.
While some other countries may look at the idea of leaving the EU it is quite unlikely they would actually go. Even the far right groups don't put leaving the EU high up on their agenda.

[GrubbyHipsterBeard]

I voted remain because ideologically I want to be part of the EU and work collaboratively with our neighbours and allies. I don’t think for a second that the EU is the main reason we have had peace in Europe for 70 years but I see Brexit as divisive. The world is a dangerous place and I think Brexit exacerbates that by weakening Europe.

I also think we are so closely intertwined now with the EU that leaving will be a logistical nightmare and any purported benefits of leaving will be outweighed by the practical costs of doing so.

[Quietrebel]

Italy made a lot of noise about leaving the EU and the Euro. Not talking about it much now.

[TheNumberfaker]

Peace Whether that’s internal or external to the UK.
Look how being in the EU has helped the situation in NI. Look at the relationship that France and Germany have now after decades/centuries of conflict.
If you need any other reasons then it’s friendship, prosperity, diversity and opportunity. I have worked and had relationships in other EU countries. Why would I want there to be any barriers to that? I am now firmly settled in the UK, but my daughters have good friends who are EU27 citizens. One of the best teachers in our school is an EU27 citizen. It is wonderful that we can mix and share our cultures so freely.
The economic consequences are also a factor, and the one that means there should never have been a referendum in the first place.
I could never have voted Leave as there wasn’t a fixed definition of what “Leave” meant anyway!

[MardyBra]

The EU may not directly be the reason for 70 years of peace, but countries who trade and collaborate together are much less likely to go to war.

[LavenderBush]

The UK economy. Brexit would be shit for it.

You only have to look at what happens to the value of the £ when each piece of Brexit news comes out. Referendum for Brexit: pound takes a massive dive. More recently, the pound takes even more of a hammering according to how likely a 'no deal' Brexit appears. But every Brexit option is shit for the UK economy, basically.

You don't have to be Einstein.

[Kezzie200]

Remain because the UK had a reasonable deal - rebate, no schegen and no euro currency. The world is getting smaller. We do not live in 1973 and, even if we did, was it really that great then? I know my Dad had 2 weeks holiday a year and we lived hand to mouth. We are a pretty prosperous nation and to help our neighbours to escape from dictatorships a good thing. I see the EU as neighbours whereas I appreciate many don't. Leaving such a long established system was impossible to do without someone/many being hurt and I wasn't prepared to make that decision.

I acknowledge the EU isn't perfect. A lot of the countries are very different from each other, including their tax collection regimes. Not all follow the rules in our British way but, equally, our papers often lied about things being EU rules that weren't (like the bananas) and it makes you wonder how many lies we were being pedaled.

On balance I felt it was better to be a club and change than be out. Immigration is an issue but we need to face ourselves in the mirror and realise with wars (we are involved in) and climate change this problem isn't going away and it needs addressing.

So, I was a remianer and still am a remainer.

[Arcadia]

Patronising, OP. 'fear of change?'. If there is a good reason for a change then I do not fear it. there is no need to give a reason for voting remain, any more than you need to give a reason for not moving house/staying in a relationship etc.
To present them as 2 equally valid options is disingenuous, and frankly what for us into this mess.
Deliberately or otherwise you are trivialising an issue that is frightening at best, with ramifications to potentially last for generations to come.

[MardyBra]

our papers often lied about things being EU rules that weren't (like the bananas)

The list of lies perpetuated by our press over the years is shocking:
blogs.ec.europa.eu/ECintheUK/euromyths-a-z-index/

[Arcadia]

Did you mean to say you don't think this augurs well for the rest of the world?

[Kewqueue]

Most of the reasons have already been mentioned but for me the overarching one is that I believe in cooperation between countries! I have never seen the allure of us "going it alone. We are a relatively small country and our strengths lie in being an active member of a larger union.

[rainbowquack]

I want to remain because we currently live in Switzerland and our permits are easily given to us because we are EU citizens. It becomes much more complicated when we will not be. Our children were born here and are bilingual, we were always very excited about the opportunities they would have, where they could go to university, where they will work. We live very close to the border, and often pop over to visit friends, parks, shopping. We have no plans to move in the immediate future, but we were planning on retiring in Italy or France.

We are applying for Swiss citizenship soon.

[GlassOfPort]

Having lived in 4 different countries and raised a bi-lingual child, I feel profoundly European.

I think that EU initiatives (freedom of movement, exchange programs, access to low air fares and roaming charges) have helped create a common European identity, especially among young people.

Even among the older generation, many hold political views that are definitely European (support for universal healthcare, gun control and a woman's right to choose is widespread here, but definitely not in the US).

Europe in my view is where we belong.

[1tisILeClerc]

The background of the 'bananas' story was more to do with the EU taking exception to poor farmers in plantations being sprayed with chemicals while they worked. Chemicals leading to several illnesses and death. The EU fought the owners of the plantations (and the WTO) to get work done safely.

[MamaLovesMango]

I voted remain because voting for something where you don’t know what the outcome is going to be is a really fucking stupid thing to do.