Nice economy shame if anything were to happen to it

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EU Mobster Time and again I hear that if we were to leave the EU our economy would suffer. Now that in it self is a reasonable enough argument but almost always one of the reasons given for our economy suffering is that the EU would punish us for leaving. By way of example :
“Project fear is a fitting name you should be fucking terrified”
“The EU member states (France and Germany especially) know this, and will be out to punish us, they will want nothing more than to watch us have 3 years where we trash our economy, only to come crawling back with our tail between our legs. They will want us to serve as an example of the damaging stupidity leaving the EU entails, so they can quell the Right Wing uprising that is currently gaining traction across all of Europe.”

Yep the main reason given for our economy suffering when we leave the EU is that the EU will do everything they can to make sure that it does to serve as a warning to others. Is that not the very definition of a protection racket and the behaviour of mobsters and bullies since time began? So the argument is actually:
“The EU is a protection racket and if we leave we’ll be made an example”
I kind of thought we had in Britain a tradition of standing up to bullies and tyrants, that we’d learnt a long time ago that paying Dene geld is always too high a price to pay. However if we have slid so far that we’re once again prepared to pay Dene geld then lets at least be honest about it and admit we’re giving in to bullies and tyrants.

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The Scottish case for Brexit

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I’ve heard tell all over the place that Scotland is very much against Brexit. Now I don’t know how true this is I doubt anyone does – but regardless I’d like to present the Scottish argument for Brexit*.

Taking Responsibility by moving all Governing Powers to Britain

You would like to get the opportunity to move more responsibilities to a more local British Democracy instead of accept the fate of Brussels plans? With all the powers moved to Britain, we can make a fairer Britain.

Britain has the resources and finances

Britain has the resources and finances to become independent. One of the early myths created by the Remain Campaign has been debunked. Britain has what it takes to become independent and the British people will be better off financially.

Believing in the creation of more jobs

With an ever rising energy and electricity demand in Europe, Britain could be one of the global leading suppliers. Britain has many natural resources that allow sustainable energy for which more jobs are created.

Believing that Britain and The EU have opposite Political and Social views

We love Britain and we love Europe. Why should both suffer from having to compromise political decisions to please both sides? Let’s respect each other and go our own way. In doing so, we’ll become better friends and neighbours then we are ever going to be in a forced political marriage.

Understanding that NO may lead to changes for worse

Change is going to happen, whether you vote Remain or Leave. By voting Remain, you will have less control over the changes that are going to change, because the power that makes these decisions is still in Brussells. A Remain vote will be seen as an act of ‘no confidence’ in the current British Government. A Remain vote may also be used by the EU to withdraw powers from the British Government.
So by voting Remain, not only will things be changing, things might be changing for worse.

Britain is a country

It shouldn’t surprise anyone to say that Britain is a nation. As such, it should have it’s own voice among other nations as an independent state. It should take responsibility for its own decisions and how it’s run.

It’s not about building borders but working with other countries

There’s already a border between Britain and the EU, and it won’t change much if we become independent. Independence isn’t about becoming an isolationist state looking out for number 1, but taking a seat at the family table with our own voice. No one in Britain is advocating ignoring the troubles facing the world with regards to climate change, poverty, war and famine. Quite the opposite in fact.

Independence would give Britain the opportunity to project a welcoming, open and peaceful ideology to the world. To stand shoulder to shoulder with our friends against war, militarism and extremism of all kinds.

Just because the Union is 71 years old, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t reassess it

Presumably you would remortgage if the economy changed? A business partnership would re-assess their agreements at regular intervals and likewise, if you and your partner (like, hugging and kissing partner, not your business partner) realised you wanted different things, then you might have a chat about where your relationship is going.

If anything, the very fact that the EU is 71 years old is a perfect reason to reassess the agreement. Times have changed and the world is a very different place with different challenges. 71 years ago Europe was recovering from a vicious expansionist military aggression and economic war. Now it’s coming to the end of the process of breaking that Empire up so that the individual nations may have their own voices and make their own decisions. It might be that the EU is the next part in this process.

Smaller democracies/states adapt quicker

A small, efficient state is more adaptable than a larger state, economically and democratically. We will be better able to grow and change during challenging times.

For the opportunity

Independence isn’t full of facts and certainties. It’s full of opportunity, right up to the fucking brim. Frankly, it’s overflowing.

We are being given the opportunity to put everything up for discussion about how a modern, democratic nation should be run. Everything. It might not come on independence day, but with independence our Parliament can go on to discuss everything – monarchy, currency, Europe and everything else. On the day after a Leave vote we start discussing what our democracy looks like, what our constitution will look like and what our bureaucracy looks like. We can really do things differently.

Independence is normal

Of all the nearly 60 countries who have become independent from the UK, none have requested to rejoin. 30 countries around the world have become independent nations since World War 2 and again, none have reverted back to their former union since.

Let’s be a normal, independent nation.

And there you have several very sound Scottish arguments for Brexit – more to follow.

* Arguments cherry picked from:
why vote yes for Scottish Independence
and
11 Common sense reasons to vote yes

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So many bad arguments

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In less than a month we’re going to have to vote to decide if we stay part of the EU or not, the campaign from both sides feels like a repeat of the Scottish referendum or a Gilbert and Sullivan number ( “full of words and music and signifying – nothing” – Tom Lehrer). Both sides are making claims about how we’ll be this much or that much better or worse off depending on how we choose – despite most economists not being able to predict a damn thing in normal conditions let alone after such a big change. How much better or worse off we’ll be in the short-term really doesn’t matter as the decision is being taken for the long-term, so will we be better or worse of in 50 or 100 years, and if you think you can predict that just look at the inventions and changes that filled the 20th century, but both sides keep banging on about the short-term economy in the hopes of scaring people one way or the other.

On the leave side some very bright people are convinced we need a detailed plan as to how to exit and they’re convinced they have it. So convinced that they don’t have a link to it in an easy to find location you have to search the articles. Mind you they spend so much time telling us why everyone else is wrong and if only we’d listen to them it’s enough to make you lose the will to live, or at least giving a single fuck as to if we stay or remain. Outside of the likes of Spiked there aren’t many people making anything like a convincing argument as to why we should leave – certainly nothing principled that could act as a guiding principle for the direction the country should be taking over the next decades and centuries. Nope all about the current economy, and very current issues which is I suppose great if you want to try to herd people in a given direction by fear.

Of course the remain side is doing no better, they too tend to stick to arguing short-term economic issues. Well apart from when they’re insulting everyone that thinks the EU may not be the best thing ever by calling them racists, little-Englanders and in the case of Operation Black vote “implying” that anyone that wants to vote to leave the EU is a violent thug.
Thugs against the EU
Of course with so many of the great and good getting money from the EU, and the EU’s past history on referendum we can hardly expect a reasoned and fair debate on the matter. The remain side of course don’t need a plan as if we stay in its business as normal and the status-quo – or at least that’s what they’d have us believe ignoring the fact that with the EU there is no status=quo just ever closer union with the direction of the EU very clear and un-reformable. As I’ve mentioned before the main argument that many remainers put forward is that we currently have a government they don’t like and the EU curtails that government.

Given how poor the arguments are all round, I do start to suspect that the plan is to make everyone so bored and fed up that no-one bothers to vote. If there’s a low turn out or a close vote then they can deploy the Irish solution – if the vote is to stay case closed, if the vote is to remain then pour in more funding and say another referendum is needed as the result wasn’t clear due to narrow margin/low turn out/the wrong answer being given. It’s a cunning tactic and it’s worked before.

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