Are you a reliable partner? Most of us would like to think that we act with integrity. It’s quintessentially British to hold someone to play by the rules. Naturally that’s as long as the rules are properly applied, safe and fair to everyone.
I’ve seen some arguments that say we don’t need the EU because Britain can make ad-hoc deals with whom it likes, where and when it serves our its interests to do so. Britain can form a coalition with Tom, Dick and Harry and if that doesn’t work out then take-off with Sid, Hancock and Kenneth. Sorry, I’ve only used male names.
Whether its bananas, aviation or international banking trade deals can be made up anytime, anywhere for any reason. This way forward sounds superficially attractive but in reality the relationships between the 195 independent sovereign states in the world doesn’t quite work that way. For a basic start there’s a hell of a lot of history that gets in the way of totally free, open and unrestricted exchange.
A lone State may have to jump in and out of bed with others to keep its trade afloat. It may not look too closely at its partner’s human rights record. It may accept terms and conditions that others would shun. To counter this, forming a regional coalition or alliance is often an effective means of increasing their bargaining power. However, these regional coalitions or alliances often struggle to counter the competition between neighbouring States. That’s certainly true in the Middle East or Asia. In the Americas the issue is the dominance of one of the partners.
Europe has the EU. It was born out of the most devastating conflicts. The EU is a model that others look at with envy. It has a key advantage and that is the rule of law. So if say; Tom, Dick and Harry don’t play by the rules there is a means of redress. There’s more than peer pressure that ensures that Tom, Dick and Harry remain reliable partners.
I believe, Britain would be foolish to throw that away this advantage. A vote to REMAIN in the EU is a confident assertion in a volatile world. A vote to REMAIN in the EU is to be a trustworthy and reliable partner across the globe. A vote to REMAIN in the EU enhances Britain’s sovereignty.
John Vincent 