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Voters in the UK had for years been telling politicians... This is a very misleading account of the situation leading up to the EU referendum in the UK. When

Voters in the UK had for years been telling politicians... This is a very misleading account of the situation leading up to the EU referendum in the UK. When David Cameron (former leader of the Conservative party) called the EU referendum, he did it principally to quell dissent within his own party. The Conservatives have long had a vocal contingent of MPs and members who wanted the UK to leave the EU and this was a chance to finally put the matter to rest within the party. When voters chose Leave over Remain by a slim majority in the EU referendum (51.9% leave, 48.1% remain), the Conservatives were unprepared and had no plan in place for a Leave result. Stop and think about that for a moment. The Conservatives called a referendum where the consequences of a leave vote would have a far-reaching and profound impact on the country's future, possibly for decades to come. And yet, astonishingly, they had no plan in place for such an eventuality. Now they ask us to trust them to negotiate Britain's exit from the EU. The Conservatives care more about their party than the country. Re: Freedom of Movement - the rules state that EU citizens are free to live in other EU countries for at least 3 months. After 3 months, Governments are entitled to ask those EU citizens to prove they are working, registered students or have sufficient money to support themselves. The UK government chose not to implement any such checks. Theresa May (current Prime Minister) was the the minister responsible for immigration (Home Secretary) for 6 years and yet did nothing to adopt these measures.

repolfx 8y ago
When David Cameron (former leader of the Conservative party) called the EU referendum, he did it principally to quell dissent within his own party That's the current narrative of EU loyalists but it's not at all correct. There had been a eurosceptic wing of the Conservative party for decades. The referendum was put into the Conservative manifesto in 2015 because of the rise of UKIP which was making a similar promise - that's what changed. Putting this policy into the official policies of the party converted UKIP support into Conservative support and allowed Cameron to win a majority. Having promised to do it and won an election partly on the back of that promise, they then proceeded to organise it. With respect to Cameron having no plan, I agree that was quite stupid of him. Refusal to contemplate the possibility of ever leaving is one of the big problems EU ideology creates in people. Convince yourself it's unthinkable and you won't think about it. But it's not true that "the Conservatives" had no plan. The pro-Leavers certainly did and still do have a plan: leave the EU whilst negotiating a reasonable future relationship that involves compromises on both sides. So the idea that there's "no plan" is another nonsensical bit of narrative. What people mean is the "plan", such that it is, heavily relies on the EU being willing to negotiate and they aren't. As for your last point, the top reason cited by voters for why uncontrolled immigration is a problem is pressure on public services. Being able to limit the numbers of unemployed and poor workers doesn't help with that, therefore, I'm not sure why you bring it up.

repolfx 8y ago

When David Cameron (former leader of the Conservative party) called the EU referendum, he did it principally to quell dissent within his own party That's the current narrative of EU loyalists but it's not at all correct. There had been a eurosceptic wing of the Conservative party for decades. The referendum was put into the Conservative manifesto in 2015 because of the rise of UKIP which was making a similar promise - that's what changed. Putting this policy into the official policies of the party converted UKIP support into Conservative support and allowed Cameron to win a majority. Having promised to do it and won an election partly on the back of that promise, they then proceeded to organise it. With respect to Cameron having no plan, I agree that was quite stupid of him. Refusal to contemplate the possibility of ever leaving is one of the big problems EU ideology creates in people. Convince yourself it's unthinkable and you won't think about it. But it's not true that "the Conservatives" had no plan. The pro-Leavers certainly did and still do have a plan: leave the EU whilst negotiating a reasonable future relationship that involves compromises on both sides. So the idea that there's "no plan" is another nonsensical bit of narrative. What people mean is the "plan", such that it is, heavily relies on the EU being willing to negotiate and they aren't. As for your last point, the top reason cited by voters for why uncontrolled immigration is a problem is pressure on public services. Being able to limit the numbers of unemployed and poor workers doesn't help with that, therefore, I'm not sure why you bring it up.