“The British people will not be dictated to by
others”. According to the German Finance Minister, leaving the EU would be ‘poison’ for the UK, European and global
economies that would last for years.
The
Guardians’ first live debate on the EU referendum that took place on the 15th
March recorded more cheers for BREXIT than it did for BREMAIN. But there is
still a significant amount of people who don’t know which way to vote. The most
recent poll from the Telegraph however shows a different result,
with 49% of voters opting to leave the EU.
The risk of
leaving is the damage that could be caused to the UK economy. The risk of
staying is the uncontrolled immigration that could result. More than 3 quarters
of the remain voters actually expect that the UK will stay in the EU, including
nearly a quarter who are not likely to vote, but still expect the rest of the
UK will vote to remain.
UKIP leader
Nigel Farage said ‘staying in the EU would drag Britain into a political union
with turkey’ leading to 77 million even poorer people entering the country. But
would this actually happen?
On the
other hand, former minister Nick Herbert warned that leaving the EU would put
investment at risk, undermine policing and security and jeopardise access to
European markets. The key long term challenge of how to deliver health and
social care with an ageing population would not suddenly be solved by the UK
leaving the EU.
Education
secretary Nicky Morgan worries that young brits could find themselves cut off
from the world. If we were to leave the EU their prospects would be limited and
opportunities would end at our shores.
What effect will a BREXIT have on health and
social care?
When it
comes to health and social care, there are many concerns surrounding the
referendum. The Guardian has reported fears that a BREXIT
could undermine the rights of the 10 million people in Britain who are
currently living with a disability.
The article
goes on to say treatments have been developed through European research, for
diseases so rare that no one country could have done it alone, highlighting the
benefits of being a part of the EU.
Brits can
currently visit any country within the EU and be guaranteed the same health
services at the same cost to a local. What will happen to healthcare if we were
no longer in the EU? Would we be charged a premium? Would we still be able to
use the European Health Insurance Card (Ehic)?
BREXIT and the disabled
The Disability News Service has recently published an article: More disabled
people have come forward to argue that a decision to quit the European Union
(EU) would harm disability rights in the UK. In 2015, 87,000 British people with a
disability were helped towards employment by European Social Funding.
Former
government adviser Miro Griffiths believes that a BREXIT would have ‘dire
consequences for disabled people’. At
the moment, millions of Euros are spent on combating poverty, supporting
independent living and challenging injustice in the UK through the European
Social Fund.
Debbie
Jolly wrote in her blog ‘disabled people and European non-governmental
organisations are the ones that fight for disability rights, but being in the
EU can help extend those rights and help to fund our battles’. She goes on to
say, other countries too have significant battles and a BREXIT would mean
‘rejecting our disabled European friends and significantly weakening our own
fight too’.
Many
Personal Assistants and other care workers in the UK are from other parts of
the EU and there is a risk that a BREXIT would see the value of the pound fall,
making it far less profitable for them to stay working here and sending money
back to their families in other countries.
So what
should we do?
There are
so many arguments both for and against a BREXIT. Let us know your thoughts and
opinions and leave a comment below.
