The United Kingdom should leave the European Union

Firstly, I too would like to further address the exports issue. The ONS have actually recognised the declining state of EU-UK trade when they said "Overall, the long-term change in the geographical composition of UK trade would suggest that the Eurozone may be losing ground to other economies" [1] and also agree that the UK exports more to the world than it does to the EU. A Bruges Group report supports the true figure being around 40% of UK exports go to the EU [2]. I would also like to make the point that the reason the UK "can even afford to use Belgium and the Netherlands as transit hubs" is not because of EU membership but of EEA membership. The EEA part of our membership deals with the free movement of people, goods, capital etc and is not conditional upon full EU membership as the Norway model quite clearly shows. Therefore, upon leaving full EU membership behind and resuming EFTA membership while simultaneously keeping EEA membership it is clear the UK would still keep these decreased trade barriers that you mentioned. That said, even if trade tariffs were reintroduced, the aforementioned Bruges Group report also explains how these would not be a problem to the UK anyway. We would not need to negotiate our trade policy with the EU again as EFTA already has a policy on mutual free trade with the EU. You also say these regulations are justified but I have to disagree. The Huffington Post reported on an Open Europe report that said EU regulation costs the UK 27.4 billion a year [3]. As I have already shown, EFTA membership means a lot less regulation from EU institutions which would therefore mean more money for the UK. Add to that that businesses favour deregulated markets and we see the UK becoming an increasingly favourable option for FDI which links back with what I was saying in round one about how we could expect more FDI if we leave our EU membership behind. I agree that farmers need subsidies to survive here, the small and medium sized ones anyway but with the Common Agricultural Policy it is the case that the biggest farms were allocated 75% of the CAP aid while the smallest 25% of farms (the ones who really need it) got a mere 3% of the aid [4] pg 24-25]. It is worth mentioning here that you don't even have to have a farm to qualify for the aid as the Queen's and the Duke of Westminster have both received massive payouts from the EU when they clearly do not need it. The UK could afford to subsidise its own farms, just like other major, non-EU economies do. The first issue I take with your Britain First Fallacy is that while you are quick to point out the 130 billion EU effect, you forget that be that as it may, the UK is still a net-contributor to the EU and as such we pay more in than we get back. I also disagree with the idea we are threatening to leave because we want to be treated as special. The friction between the EU and UK is caused by differences of opinion in how the EU should work and resistance to where the EU is going politically. Personally I see it as a good example of UK-EU political incompatibility. Furthermore, when the rebate system was introduced in 1984, it was because the UK was the 3rd poorest member of EEC yet was on course to become the biggest net contributor to the EU. You ask how is it fair for the 5/6th largest economy in the world to contribute a lesser percentage than another but I ask how it would have been fair, back then, to make the 3rd poorest nation in the EEC the greatest contributor? We also do not seek to stop EU immigration in to the UK or anywhere else but control it. The majority of people in the UK support a system of controlled immigration and so this is yet another example of UK-EU political incompatibility. I feel I should also explain why Germany isn't the one holding the EU together. Simply put, they are holding the Euro together and they do this instead of the UK because they are the largest economy in the Eurozone of which the UK is not a part. When the EU is in economic crunch, it is the job of the ECB to make things right and the best way they do this is by using German wealth (which the German people are getting tired of I might add). In conclusion I think it is better for the UK to be a good neighbour to the EU instead of a constant thorn in its side. I believe the UK can still be the largest economy in Europe whilst not having full EU membership and I believe we can successfully use the Norwegian model (note I did not say "copy Norway"). I disagree with the idea that we want to leave because we aren't getting special favours. It is due to political incompatibility. [1] http://www.ons.gov.uk... [2]https://www.gov.uk... [3] http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk... [4] http://www.tni.org....