Much to my surprise, my great-grandmother Emmeline Pankhurst was brought into the EU referendum debate a few months ago with the suggestion by those supporting the Leave campaign that she would have been in favour of Brexit. Of course nobody can know what she would have thought, but my family - and that of the Churchills, mentioned in the same way - were rather annoyed by this use of their name. We felt that, if anything, our ancestors would have wanted the UK to be part of Europe - our gut reaction was that these historical giants would have hated to be associated with the Leavers, but of course we have no real idea - the whole question is historically nonsensical.
But it has made me think about the issue of what we instinctively think and feel, and at the end of the day, people's emotions and gut reactions do seem to be the main fuel of the EU referendum debate. And yet, in the midst of all of this emotion, people seem to want facts. But the more we have been given so-called 'facts' the more I find these elusive. 'Facts' have proved to be meaningless, twisted this way and that, because they depend on the boundaries within which information is provided. As one example, there have been arguments about whether the EU costs Britain 350 million a week, 250 million a week or whether for every one pound we pay into the EU, we get ten pounds back. The ‘facts’ don’t seem to be getting us very far. Even the way I just framed the example above shows my bias, I ended with the figure that speaks to my point of view.
I can find reason enough to justify my position: in terms of economic trade; the social benefits, for women in particular, of what has been called the 'floor of rights'; a belief that terrorism and climate change cross boundaries, and that political unity as a European block gives us tremendous collective power. We have the best of both worlds, connected, but with significant levels of autonomy. However, I also know that those who think differently, will turn each of these aspects around, to put the opposite view.
The Leave campaign’s main argument relates to the problems of unfettered migration, the worry about scarce resources in schools and hospitals, and competition over jobs. I understand these fears, but I just don't believe that leaving the EU is a magic bullet that will resolve the problems without creating new ones. Our economies and societies are interdependent and severing links will be painful for numerous companies and for many families here in the UK. In the face of international humanitarian crises, we would still have to face the predicament about what we should be doing as a global leader, whilst our authority to address the root causes of the problems is lessened by our retreat.
Meanwhile, I cannot help worrying that voting to leave would destabilise our whole political system. This seems to be fracturing already to some extent, but if we leave, we would have to establish new sets of relationships. For example, we would have to form a new cabinet and possibly even a new government within the UK; the majority of parliament seems to be in favour of staying, so MPs would be tasked with putting into place changes they don't think are in the country's best interest; we would have to develop new agreements with all our neighbours, and with many others around the world; Scotland could demand another referendum; policing the only physical border between Northern Ireland and Ireland could create additional tensions. The whole thing - just from a pragmatic point of view - would cost money, time and effort. It just seems mad.
So it's back to my first point about gut feelings. My instinct tells me not to trust the Brexiters, that they would take us down the path towards shrinking political, social and economic prospects, away from the idea that we are stronger together. On June 23, 2016, I will be voting for us to stay in the EU, to keep a seat at the table with our closest allies - staying shoulder to shoulder. I hope Britain does too.
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EU referendum guest post: Helen Pankhurst – "The EU gives us the best of both worlds"
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MumsnetGuestPosts · 20/06/2016 13:23
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