I haven’t written anything for over a year. Don’t ask me why, as I love writing and emptying my head to the world.
My last post was all about the lead up to the General Election of May 2015. It turned into an event resembling a circus and was fought using blame, fear, accusations and excuses.
The electorate seemed confused then, and nothing much has changed since.
A year on, we are about to vote on what is potentially the most important decision we could face as a country. Do we stay in the EU or do we leave? It is a debate that has been rumbling along from the day we first joined.
Political parties have been divided by the issue and more than one party leader has fallen from the collapse of unity from within their own ranks.
But, do we really understand what Europe is about and how we would benefit – or lose – from leaving? Has anyone yet managed to convince us of the true arguments for or against staying?
It seems from the nightly news that nothing has changed since last year’s election; it is still about blame, fear, accusations and excuses. In short, it is what we have come to expect from our politicians.
Many people will base their decision purely on prejudice, an irrational fear of immigration and a delusion that we are still the ‘Great Britain’ we once were. They tend not to understand the global realities of the modern world. We are no longer self sufficient
Others are happy to embrace the positives they perceive as being part of a modern Europe. They see only continuing strength and security in staying as a member of what is a collective of European Member States.
The reality probably lies somewhere between the two views.
However, we are not the Superpower we once were and we do not have the manufacturing base we once had. Much of our ‘wealth’ is obtained from our association with mainland Europe and by acting as a conduit for the outside world to enter.
No-one can pretend the structure of the EU is the perfect system but, like all politics, we cannot influence anything by positioning ourselves outside. The days of being secure from withdrawing into isolation are no longer viable in a modern world of instant global communication and economic trends.
I hope before the vote, both sides stop the blaming, the scare tactics, the accusations and the excuses.
Whatever your gut tells you will always be a much better guide than the media, or the self-interest of business executives and politicians!
I’m off now to catch the ferry!