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Unintended consequences
February 01, 2019
Migration has sustained the UK's old age dependency ratio. Without new immigration to boost the proportion of working age adults we must expect further changes to the pension age. Author of this article Janette Hurles works in Executive Coaching and Leadership Development. She is currently researching how companies are addressing the challenges of the demographic time bomb in terms of attracting and retaining older workers.
Complacency is our Worst Enemy
January 25, 2019
Something very disturbing happened in Britain in 2016. The referendum seems to have become a catalyst for a change in the climate of debate and media discourse so now statements are allowed which never would have been aired before. The country is divided, families and groups of friends split, due to accusations and abuse.
The importance of getting involved with your local group
January 25, 2019
So, you've written to your MP several times and now all you can do is to watch helplessly while the Commons follows arcane procedures to try to stop the most obstinate prime minister in history pretend that her Brexit is the 'only possible deal' and that the only alternative is a No Deal Brexit.
European Movement Eastbourne's dinner
January 25, 2019
Brendan Donnelly, Director of the Federal Trust, was the speaker at our January dinner held at the Hydro Hotel and attended by over 70 members and their guests.
Brendan opened his talk by giving his analysis of the current situation in Parliament where the Withdrawal Bill was being debated. He recognised that this month's decisions had changed impacted the course of Brexit a lot, including the controversial decision of the speaker to allow MPs a vote on a Brexit amendment. He referenced the UK’s unwritten constitution and precedent, commenting that it was unsatisfactory that important issues are in the hands of one or two individuals.
His analysis outlined the difficulties faced by the Prime Minister over the last two years in her negotiations with the EU and trying to contain discontent within her own party, where there was no consensus on the way forward with various factions, including wanting a No-Deal Brexit or those supporting a People's Vote.
He felt that the Prime Minister would spend the next two months continuing to present her
deal as the only option, but he recognised that nobody could see how this will play out.
The speaker at our next dinner on 13 February 2019 will be Professor Roger Eatwell, University of Bath. If you would like to come to our February event or just learn more about the Eastbourne European Movement, then please call our Chair, Paula Welch on 07510851722 or visit www.europeanmovementeastbourne.uk
To Believe in the EU is to Take Pride in British Accomplishments
January 18, 2019
I’ve always been a patriotic person. I love my country and I’m very proud of our achievements. But I find it puzzling that when we talk about these achievements, we rarely talk about anything after the second world war. But our nation has also helped shape the modern world, in a large part of that is because of our leading role in shaping the modern EU.
When people discussed the big powers within the EU, they didn’t talk about two countries. They talked about three - Britain, France and Germany. The countries of Scandinavia, Eastern and Central Europe, plus Ireland and the Netherlands frequently allied themselves with the UK within the EU, and followed our lead. The old EEC may have started without us but since we joined, we have had a huge role in shaping the modern EU’s economy, its culture and its values.
The best example of how big our influence has been on the EU is the single market. It was the British who was the driving force behind the common market (as it used to be called) which now makes a fundamental part of both the EU’s economy and the UK's economy. (1) We not only started the process, but we also pushed France and Germany to agree to it, and we sent a British man, Arthur Cockfield, to the EU to work out exactly how to do it. He wrote the White Paper that became the instruction manual on the necessary structures and laws the EU adopted so that the single market would work. (1) It created huge economic gains for UK and the EU, it is a tremendous achievement and one we should be proud to be a part of.
Speaking up for the NHS
January 17, 2019
January 15th was a remarkable night in politics. A crowd of thousands had gathered in Parliament Square to watch history being made as MPs voted meaningfully on May’s Brexit deal, and in the end the crowd were not disappointed.
The whole evening leading up to that moment had an air of hope and expectation. I rushed straight there from the hospital when my clinic ended, and arrived just before six o’clock to find the square opposite the House of Commons already crammed with people, seemingly everyone waving blue and yellow flags and placards. At one side of the square alongside Westminster Abbey, a stage had been set up and roving lights bathed the crowd. Huge screens alternated between the speakers on stage and the scenes taking place inside the House of Commons. A succession of speakers were addressing the crowd, each one met with cheers and whistles as they spoke against May’s deal.
It was a huge honour to be invited to speak at this rally on behalf of the British Medical Association. The BMA opposes any form of Brexit and believes it is vital the public has the final say on any proposed deal. I wanted to remind the gathered supporters of the stakes for the NHS in the Brexit debate, and of what we’re fighting to protect. The health of the nation is at risk from Brexit because of the damage it will do to the NHS, and we have to speak up to protect it.
A meeting on Brexit with my local MP
January 14, 2019
Last month, I attended a ‘Brexit’ meeting called by my MP, Rory Stewart (Conservative). It was attended by around 200 people and I found it very interesting.
Rory Stewart believes that there is a need to ‘acknowledge the result’ of the referendum by ‘finding a middle ground’. He is a supporter of the Prime-Minister’s Brexit ‘deal’ because he believes that it is the ‘best way to heal a polarised debate’. He thinks that Britain has always had a complicated relationship with Europe that can only be solved by ‘stepping back’ and having a conversation about economic, cultural and social issues that could only be held if Britain was outside the European Union.
Having started the meeting by outlining his own views, Rory Stewart asked the attendees what they thought by asking people to respond to questions with a show of hands. He found that 50% of those present favoured a People’s Vote and only 15% supported May's Brexit deal.
The truth is out there..
January 08, 2019
Fans of American TV series ‘The X Files’ will know that however apparently inexplicable or mysterious were the events that its heroes, Mulder and Scully, had to deal with, they were always doggedly in pursuit of the truth. Only then could a rational explanation be found, even when faced with the irrational, conspiracy theories or lies of others. The sceptic scientist, Scully had to become open-minded wherever Mulder stumbled upon unconventional, hidden agendas of government.
From apathy to volunteering for the People's Vote campaign
January 08, 2019
In 2016, when the referendum came and went, I remember being captivated. I supported neither side in their fundamentals, and was relatively apathetic towards being a partial supporter for either side in the campaign. I was not even 16, and could not vote. Nevertheless I was shocked at the UK – a tolerant, pluralist, convention-based, pragmatic and generally stable nation, built on experience – going back on these key principles and ripping itself apart.
Why Brexit is a health risk
January 07, 2019
As a doctor working in the NHS, I believe that Brexit is a health risk for my patients and for the whole country. We need to have a People’s Vote to give the people who depend on the NHS – basically everyone – the chance to decide if what’s on offer outside the EU is better than the deal we already have inside the EU.
We were promised £350m a week more for the NHS during the referendum campaign. This turns out to have been untrue. The damage to the economy caused by any type of Brexit (the government’s deal or No Deal) is going to leave the whole country poorer. It will lead to financial pressure on all publicly-funded services, including the NHS.
Austerity has already left the NHS on its knees, and we are struggling to maintain services as it is. The funding “boost” promised by the Government isn’t nearly enough to deal with the shortfall and expected rise in demand (especially if a million UK citizens come back from living in the EU). There will also be significant extra costs to the NHS after leaving the EU, to do with staffing and visa costs, drug costs, exchange rates for imported items, and so on.
But the problems Brexit will cause the NHS – and is already causing the NHS! – are not just about money. We depend on staff from other countries – more than 1 in every 20 people working in the NHS is from the EU. Applications for nursing registration by EU nurses fell by 96% after the 2016 referendum – a clear case of people voting with their feet. Everyone working in the NHS can tell you about colleagues who are leaving or have left because of the uncertainty about their future here in the UK. We’re already desperately short-staffed and Brexit is making things worse.