Brits – Your chance of a lifetime!

This is your chance to infl uence the direction of history by voting in the upcoming UK EU Referendum. It’s not often we get a chance to give an important personal decision that will directly aff ect our lives. Prepare for June 23rd by informing yourselves as fully as possible – read,view,listen,study the websites,see for yourselves – beware of misinformation. Then… Vote! IN or OUT – your choice – whose vote is it anyway? Voting – you can register to vote in the UK (proxy or postal) by registering online at www.gov. uk/register-to-vote or contact the Electoral Registration Offi  cer where you last lived in UK – fi nd out more on www.aboutmyvote. co.uk No one is suggesting what your voting choice should be but do USE it. Why vote? Remember just over a century ago you wouldn’t have had the opportunity to vote – no universal suff rage in UK then. This is not simply a narrow domestic policy issue but a balance of National and International concerns. We are in a unique position as expats to have an additional perspective. Talk to your Portuguese neighbours and other nationalities here to discover their opinions re Britain leaving. Also consider how a Brexit might aff ect you here in Portugal… What rights might you lose? What will the EU look like in 5 years time? This is as much a social as an economic debate although much emphasis is being given to the economic side. Whet your appetite by considering these arguments: Brexit would allow the UK to claim back sovereignty and self-determination so paving the way for other EU countries to opt out hoping the EU would disintegrate; Britain could withdraw from freedom of movement, promote the restablishment of border controls and put limits on immigration numbers. Britain could buy cheap food worldwide and still remain in EEA and WTO. What about employment prospects- the average person’s main concern?

Is Britain in a position to ‘go it alone’ or is it living in the past? Is an ‘opt out’ an excuse for retreat from world problems? Would we lose any current privileges if we wanted to ‘rejoin’ in the future? ASK questions – GET answers! Arguments that favour remaining include reforming the EU which is no ‘cure-all’ and has no magic wand but is dynamic, a force for ongoing change. Co-operation on common, large scale problems is more eff ective than individual action. The EU is a protection against extremism and the worst excesses of Nationalism. It limits the power of any one country. Countries within the EU can infl uence reforms such as building in more democracy and less bureaucracy. Can we have true democracy without good social conditions? What is the Democratic Governance Pact or the Committee of the Regions? How democratic is the UK media? Do we elect or appoint members to the House of Lords? Ask questions! Might research, as well as the 40 smaller projects in the UK supported by EU funds, be aff ected? Would the EIP (European Investment Bank), owned by member states, withdraw authorisation of funds for projects such as the £1bn for aff ordable housing in UK? Would USA attention dwindle and divert to EU? Perhaps the last, and maybe most important, words should come from Yanis Varoufakis (former Greek Finance Minister) who admits he would like to give Brussels a ‘bloody nose’ but thinks “We… should never lose sight of the 1930s when… the left failed to create the coalition with other democrats that was necessary to prevent the descent into the abyss…”

Sylvia Gallagher National Co-ordinator in Portugal for UK EU Referendum

NR – Este texto foi-nos enviado por uma leitora inglesa, residente no concelho das Caldas. Dada a relevância da comunidade britânica na nossa região e a importância do assunto em causa, decidimos publicá-lo em inglês.