The UK should leave the EU for it's own benefit

Thanks to my opponent for their argument, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and now with no further hesitation let me destroy it. Financial Misunderstanding and EEA or EU While my opponent could be correct to point out that cutting ties with the EU will result in larger costs for trade with the EU. That is if and only if the EU does not give Britain special compensation trade benefits like Iceland or Switzerland have, that is EEA. To be frank, I do not see how the EU will not want that as Britain is the sixth largest economy in the world and as such has massive buying power.(1) In essence to lose some of its trade with Britain who could get a better deal with China for example will hurt the EU immensely. I can not in fact see any possible scenario where the EU enforces stricter European trade regulations on Britain, as the EU will lose out in the long run. I should also point out that by showing that Britain gets benefits for paying less membership fees than other EU countries, my opponent has validated the fact that clearly the EU wants Britain involved. As such this strengthens my argument that Britain is not going to get put on the naughty step for withdrawing from the EU. Remember if the EU did not want Britain they would not have been tempted into membership with lower contribution fees (benefits) in the first place. So I never thought I would say this but, “good job Maggie.” I agree with my opponent that the British like to complain about cheap labor. However,this is a red herring as the minimum wage in the UK is the same as the EU in that it is determined by each country.(2) In fact it could be argued that working in Britain is better than working in other EU countries like Germany and Denmark which do not even have a minimum wage. So if the British complaining about cheap labor is a serious point of contention, I should also point out that the British complain about pretty much everything i.e. cricket, weather, football, etc I will agree with my opponent that immigrant workers are not taking jobs away. In fact this agrees well with my second round argument which basically says that if the UK withdraws from the EU, they will probably still be hiring immigrant labor. However, by doing this it will be more restricted and as such will not have to support immigrants that have just decided to stay on the UK's dime, see reference seven from round 2. I am not sure what most British not speaking a second language has to do with anything in this debate. Sure, if the government makes it mandatory to speak another language people will learn more. However, why should they? English is the international language as much as we hate to admit it. (3) Important note: This reference is added just for interest. Quality of life benefits The fact that Britons currently can move freely on vacation will not be hindered by the withdrawal from the EU. The major factor deciding if you need a visa for a country is based on politics and the country you come from. Third world countries require visas more often , as these people are a higher risk to overstay their welcome. Britons currently don't need visas for the US as its a first world country and has good political ties. In the same way I am pretty sure they will not need one for the EU.(4) Also as pointed out before the UK has money to spend and the EU wants that money so stopping tourism will not be beneficial to them. The only negative effect that Britons could possibly suffer would be the paying of import duties on goods purchased in the EU. However, if the EU remains an EEA member this is void. As such, this is a potential problem but one that will probably be decided by the British government and not the EU parliament. After all a country is entitled to do what they want with duty free goods. Political Influence This is a double edge sword as yes Britain can get some benefits politically by being part of the EU, however it can also suffer consequences due to EU actions. An example of this would be BP and the problems it is having with its companies in Russia now that the EU has applied sanctions against Russia. As such my opponent makes a valid point, however it seems from past experience that Britain got along very well without the EU and surely they will again. Moral Obligations My opponent is correct that the EU did stem out of a common cause to make sure among other things that another world war does not erupt in Europe. However, maybe its better that Britain then is not part of Europe, as before when they were not part of Europe they came in and saved Europe.....Twice. Needless to say this is also ignoring the Spanish intentions and Napoleons escapades as well. So moral obligations are not a problem, as it seems the British do the right thing morally anyway. In conclusion, my opponent is right when she says Britain has always been treated like the special child. The reason for this is that Britain is the special child and as such it deserves its own glory and not to stand next to other counties as an equal. I hand back the debate to my opponent while I enjoy a cup of Earlgrey Tea knowing I have probably alienated all potential votes. (1) http://data.worldbank.org... (2) http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu... (3) http://www.omniglot.com... (4) http://london.usembassy.gov...