Progress. From month to month, and year to year, things just get better. We find better ways of making things, doing things, fixing things. This means our lives, and the quality of our lives, just keeps getting better. That’s how it’s supposed to be anyway.
If you were to see a television made in the 1950s, and compare it with a television of today, there’s just no comparison. A 12-inch, noisy, black and white wooden box bears no comparison with a 46 inch flat screen, high definition LCD.
AÂ good thing?
Is progress a good thing? Well of course it is. There’s no argument.
The European Union also had its roots in the 1950s. It started out as a declaration by the French foreign minister of the time, Robert Schuman. This was soon followed by the Treaty of Paris, and the launch of the European Coal and Steel Community. This eventually became the European Economic Community.
Since then we’ve had the Maastricht Treaty, which led to the formation of the European Union. This is a Union that brought us the single currency and the free movement of goods, services and labour.
Extensive funding is provided for groups ranging from scientists and businessmen to farmers. There are extensive rules and regulations to preserve our environment, and there are a range of laws on human rights.
Mobility means that we don’t need visas, that it’s far easier to travel in Europe, and that we can settle in the south of France and on the Spanish coast.
A huge number of British companies trade in Europe. They often trade in euros, their employees travel from Manchester to Paris and Warsaw, and their shares may be listed on the London and Frankfurt stock exchanges.
Leaving Europe would be a backward step
People grumble about Europe all the time. They talk about too much immigration, and excessive regulation. Why, they ask, is Brussels interfering all the time? Leaving Europe may have its attractions, but it would be a disaster for British companies and British investors.
The FTSE 100 would fall, and so would the pound. Some companies would up sticks and leave Britain, and others might decide to locate their next factory, office or lab in Valencia rather than Birmingham. Jobs would be lost. But there’s something more important than that. Because this would change how the world views Britain. It would be seen in a very negative light.
That’s why I view leaving the European Union so seriously. You’re not leaving the Greek crisis, and you’re not leaving what people hand-wavingly call ‘Brussels bureaucracy’. In one fell swoop, you’re leaving over sixty years of European progress.
It would be a backward step. Don’t take it.