Off Topic EU deabte. Which way are you voting ?

Just watching the EU debate on ITV. Personally I'm voting to remain in the EU for a number of reasons: economy, security, environment, workers rights, international cooperation etc. But watching this debate an even bigger reason to vote in is because otherwise we'll end up with that prick Boris Johnson in no 10 as PM. If that happens we are seriously ****ed.

 

and yes I've just realised I've made a typo on the word debate in the title before any of you ****s point it out

 

Alright, you filthy animals. I don’t normally do this, because I believe that everyone should have the right to vote how they want at elections, but:

a) this ain‘t an election, it’s a referendum so go **** yourself

and

b) I honestly believe that the stakes are too high for me not to get involved here. If I can influence even one person with this post, then I’ll feel like I’ve done something important.

So, I’ll put my cards on the table: I believe, very very strongly, that we need to stay in the EU. I never thought I’d find myself agreeing with David ‘PigFellatio’ Cameron, but in this unfortunate case I am, and here’s why:

We stand to gain SO MUCH from staying in the EU. “How much”, you’re (probably not) asking? Well, I made a convenient list for your perusal, WITH sources, so you can’t be a twat and say ‘you’re making that up!’ and froth at the mouth like a rabid ****.

I know people on the internet like listicles with clickbait titles, so here are “14 Reasons Why We Shouldn’t Leave The EU That Everyone Should Know! You Won’t Believe #8!”:

1) The EU provides easy access to 1/3 of the world’s markets by value (in other words, the EU’s combined market value is 1/3 of the entire world’s, and we can tap into it whenever the **** we want). [1] It also gives UK businesses preferential market access to over 50 countries OUTSIDE the EU, including some of the fastest-growing economies in the world like South Korea and South Africa. [2]
2) The EU gives us better product safety. You know, so your toddler doesn’t impale him/herself on a ****tily designed toy, or swallow a load of poisonous plastic. [3]
3) The EU gives structural funding to areas hit by industrial decline (hello, Cornwall). [4]
4) The EU gave us lead free petrol. [5]
5) The EU gives us cheaper mobile charges. [6] It also gives us cheaper air travel. [7] **** yeah, cheap things!
6) The EU gives us cleaner beaches, rivers and air (hello again, Cornwall). [8]
7) The EU gives us improved consumer protection and food labelling, so you actually know what it’s in your Chicken McNuggets (hint: it’s chicken. It wasn’t always chicken, though). [9]
8) The EU has helped break up monopolies. [10] If you don’t know why monopolies are a Very Bad Thing, try playing the popular board game ‘Monopoly’ and see how many friends you have left when you win.
9) The EU gives us cross-border policing to combat human trafficking, arms and drug smuggling, and terrorism. [11]
10) Being a member of the EU means no paperwork or customs for exports throughout the single market, as well as the freedom to travel, live and work across Europe. [12] This one is particularly important for me as someone who likes to live, work and travel abroad. Do you have ANY IDEA how ****ing great it is to be able to travel and work visa-free?! Having to a get a visa for every single country you enter is a nightmare, believe me. If you’ve ever tried to travel around Asia, Africa or South America, you’ll understand what I’m saying.
11) The EU creates and helps uphold all kinds of awesome human rights, such as equal pay legislation, holiday entitlement, and the right not to work more than a 48-hour week without overtime. [13] I’d also like to point out that it’s some of these same human rights that David ‘PorkTwatter’ Cameron tried to erode back in 2014, with the EU playing a major role in stopping him. [14]
12) The EU creates and upholds all kinds of great animal welfare legislation; it has the strongest wildlife protection laws in the world and contributes to improved animal welfare in food production. [15]
13) The EU funds incredible scientific research and industrial collaboration(including, most recently, a project that may be the catalyst for a cure for breast cancer being found in the next few years, I **** you not). [16]
14) Finally, and arguably most importantly, the EU has for 60 years been the foundation of peace between European neighbours after many years of bloodshed. [17] It has also assisted in the extraordinary social, political and economic transformation of 13 former dictatorships, now EU members, since 1980. [18]



SOURCES:
[1] http://news.cbi.org.uk/…/eu-business-facts/10-facts-about-…/
[2] http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-13-1080_en.htm
[3] http://ec.europa.eu/…/general_product_safety_d…/index_en.htm
[4] http://ec.europa.eu/…/general_product_safety_d…/index_en.htm
[5] http://ec.europa.eu/environme…/…/project/Projects/index.cfm…
[6] https://www.theguardian.com/…/europe-abolishes-mobile-phone…
[7] http://europa.eu/…/citizens/travel/passeng…/air/index_en.htm
[8] http://www.theguardian.com/…/england-beaches-bathing-waters…
[9] http://ec.europa.eu/…/la…/labelling_legislation/index_en.htm
[10] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w…/European_Union_competition_law (I know I’m not supposed to use Wikipedia as a source for its less-than-rigorous academic standards, but **** YOU I’m not in uni anymore, I’ll do what I like).
[11] http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage…
[12] http://ec.europa.eu/…/borders-and-…/visa-policy/index_en.htm
[13] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/…/European_Convention_on_Human_R…
[14] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/…/David-Camerons-plan-to-scrap-t…
[15] http://ec.europa.eu/food/animals/welfare/index_en.htm
[16] http://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/94691_en.html
[17] The Second World War, motherfucker. Read a history book.
[18] The Cold War, motherfucker. Read a history book.

And now, let’s take a moment to address some of the arguments for leaving the EU.

Apart from the fact that I can’t find a single reputable study that suggests we’d be any better off outside of the EU (and believe me, I’ve looked; I want to research my counterarguments as thoroughly as my arguments), the most persuasive arguments I’ve found are what I’m going to term ‘the trade argument’ and ‘the immigration argument’.

The trade argument goes as follows: if we left the EU, we could negotiate a sort of ‘amicable divorce’ where we somehow retain strong trading links with the EU while not being subject to its laws. Many people point to Canada as a good example of this model, which recently negotiated a CETA (Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement- do I have to google EVERYTHING for you?) with the EU.

I have two retorts to this argument.

My first retort: Canada was never a part of the EU in the first place.

To return to the divorce analogy outlined above- whereby the EU and the U.K. are a sort of ‘married couple’ and trade is their kids- the U.K. seeking a CETA after leaving the EU would be like a nasty, messy divorce where one parent uses the kids as a weapon against the other, threatening to take them away whenever their demands aren’t met. Canada’s CETA, meanwhile, is like a married couple approaching someone else to have a threesome at a swinger’s party, which sounds a lot more fun and exciting, I’m sure you’ll agree.

My second retort to the above argument is simple: why even take the risk?

If we stay in the EU, our trade with them will continue to be prosperous and full of great sex while the kids are asleep (okay, I’ve taken the analogy too far now). If we leave, however, there’s a chance any trade agreement could fail catastrophically and leave our economy in a ****storm. In fact, I would argue the likes of Germany, France and other leading EU nations would not simply let us pick and choose what rules and trade agreements we adhere to, so the likelihood of us being absolutely fine, trade-wise, after leaving the EU seems overly optimistic. Plus negotiating a CETA of any kind could take years and have a completely uncertain outcome. Again, why take the risk? An additional point: arguments no. 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11, and 12 above are examples of really great laws and regulations the EU has introduced. If you say you want to leave the EU so we have autonomy over our own laws, you know that you’re effectively handing control of our country over to David ‘HideTheSausageLiterally’ Cameron, don’t you? In terms of making laws that benefit all of us, I trust the EU way more than that guy.

The immigration argument tends to centre around the whole ‘visa-free work and travel’ thing, and is generally espoused by people terrified of dem immigantz stealin are jobz. Alternatively it’s espoused by people afraid of terrorists being able to come here more easily, but for that I’d refer you to point no. 9 above; we’re safer from terrorism in the EU because we can share intelligence and resources with other countries more easily. But back to the ‘stealing our jobs’ fear; while it’s true that technically speaking there could be an influx of foreigners coming to claim your particular job at any moment, just remember, we’ve been part of the EU for 43 years now and it hasn’t happened yet, despite what the mainstream media may tell you (and you DEFINITELY shouldn’t trust those guys; more on that later). Seriously, do you know ANYONE, personally, that has had their job stolen by a foreigner? Be honest now. I’d be willing to wager that you don’t, and I’ll explain why that is too: the immigrants that are coming here are not stealing YOUR jobs, specifically.

They’re either starting their own businesses (in which case they’re actually creating jobs), or they’re skilled labourers taking jobs there just aren’t enough trained British people to take (such as doctors or surgeons), or they’re unskilled labourers taking the jobs that you don’t want (like toilet cleaning or washing dishes). Incidentally, about a year ago I taught English to some Eastern European immigrants who worked in a salad-packing factory in Lichfield. One Latvian girl was actually a teacher back home, but she was making more money as a salad-packer here than she was as a teacher in Latvia(!)- the point being that unskilled immigrant workers are generally happy to work ****ty menial jobs that no British person wants, and your cushy 9-to-5 office job is not under threat. Not even a little bit- so don’t worry your xenophobic little head about it. Oh, and one last thing on this subject, to paraphrase Louis CK: maybe, if an immigrant with no contacts, no skills and no local knowledge of the language and/or culture can steal your job, maybe, just maybe, you’re **** at your job.

If you’ve made it thus far through this absolute essay of a post, congratulations! You’re nearly at the end! But before I go, I just want to hit you with one final thought.

Over 80% of UK newspapers are owned by five right-wing media billionaires (aka five massive ****stacks): Lord Rothermere (Daily Mail), Rupert Murdoch (Sun/Times), Richard Desmond (Express), and the Barclay Brothers (Telegraph). Murdoch is an Australian living in New York and Rothermere lives in France, while the Barclay Brothers live in the tax havens of Monaco and Guernsey. All of them use tax haven entities to avoid UK taxes. And guess who wants to stop billionaires using tax havens to avoid paying their taxes? That’s right, the EU. So of COURSE the British newspapers are trying to persuade you to leave the EU; it benefits their owners personally. The moral of the story is, don’t gather your views from newspapers. Do some research like I have with this post, you lazy twonknoggin.

In conclusion: we’re in a really great position right now. We’re part of the EU with all the benefits that entails, but without being tied to their notoriously unstable currency. Leaving the EU would not only be hypocritical since we spent so much time telling Scotland they shouldn’t leave the UK this time last year with all that lovely ‘better together’ rhetoric, it might also be downright stupid and harmful to our economy.

tl;dr version: Vote to stay in the EU, you filthy animals. Because reasons. Trust me, I know what I’m talking about.

 

This ^ and a packet of Swizzels

 

**** me, where did you copy and paste that from ?

I agree with it btw

 

I quickly knocked it together

Good read and so true.

 

You're a ****ing liar and yes I totally agree

 

It was from a facebook post that went viral...

I'm simply spreading the guys message. I've laminated these and printed them all round Weymouth

 

Good on you fella

#8 in that list is one of the best descriptions I've heard about why monopolies are a bad thing

 

I have to confess to being a big Radio 4 listener. In amongst all of the big issues regarding the economy, immigration etc, there was a section today about how huge amounts of research funding into medicine is funded by the EU. The out campaign have come out with some BS claim that the NHS could have the £350m (incorrect) paid into the EU each week, but the research fellows were saying that the money would probably just dry up and be left to big pharma to decide which drugs are developed, based on commercial gain, instead of health needs.

 

The worst thing about this referendum is how so many people very quickly focus on the single issue of immigration when it is actually a very minor part of the whole debate.

 

Will Hiag vote the opposite of Piskie or will they actually agree on someone for once

 

Agreed. The UK isn't in the Schengen area, so the claim that we don't have control of our borders is BS anyway.

 

All the thick ****ers will jump on the immigration point because they're dumb and can't be arsed to read the facts.

They probably don't even know the difference between illegal immigrants and refugees

 

The EU is ****ed lets get out before it ruins us

OUT OUT OUT

 

The Tory hag on the leave side of the debate on ITV tonight was going on about how the NHS is at breaking point because of the numbers of immigrants putting pressure on the health service. She neglected to mention her own party's systematic attempts to run the NHS into the ground so that when it's at breaking point, their rich chums in the private sector can come in and 'save the day'

 

Hopefully they'll forget to vote as they'll be too busy watching Homes under the Hammer, the brainless, feckless, scrounging ****s

 

Jeremy Kyle.

"Our jobs, our benefits, they're all just terrorists."

 

EU has done wonders for Ireland.

Instead of sweaty flatcap wearing spud farmers, we now have neckbearded hipster craft beer drinking plebs.

 

In obviously.

Little Englanders seeking out making us the laughing stock of Europe