The United Kingdom should leave the European Union

Britain is currently at a cross-roads, whether to continue to restrain itself with the ties of the European Union or to free itself and allow Britain to return to being a major player in the world. Now the main question is how does the European Union restrain the UK? Economically: First of all the astronomical membership fees, which currently make up 10% of our GPD at a cost of "129 bn (2009) [1], have a heavy burden on the British Government and tax player. But of course we do receive money back from the EU but despite this Britain is still of a net loss of "8.107 bn (2013-2014) [2]. However this money we are given back can only be spent on what the EU dictates, demonstrating a loss of power in Westminster. This leads to a simple question: Can, when public services are being cut left right and centre, the government afford these costs? We then come to the question of trade, what advantages has the UK gained from the EU? Well according to the reputable think-tank Civitas which reports "EU membership has not given the UK any insider advantages" [3]. So we are paying billions upon billions of pounds for a system which does not give us advantages within it. Moreover it is fact that Britain imports more than in exports within the EU and moreover the trade gap has risen by 68% from 2008 [4]. The implications of this are then the EU and it's member states are very reliant on British trade, for example Germany makes up 28% of British imports [4]. It is then ludicrous to suggest at all that trade or British jobs will be damaged by UK withdrawal. In fact the UK is likely to benefit from leaving the EU as it would be able to secure free trade agreements with emerging economies like Brazil and established economies like China, which currently the EU hinders. This idea is reinforced by the fact that the UK exports to non-EU countries has risen by 30% [5]. Therefore it is clear that Britain can survive and in fact become stronger, economically, independent form the EU and that the UK has been economically restrained by the EU. Legally: There is much debate on how much of UK law was from the EU as quotes vary from Nick Clegg's 7% to Nigel Farage's 70% however from research it would seem that 'between 15% to 50%' of laws/regulations are made by the EU [6]. This is showing that since the Britain joined a free trade agreement the EU has continually become more interfering and has transformed into something that the British public did not vote for. Furthermore this regulation which is imposed onto British businesses and British citizens is not from democratic means the president and so-called 'cabinet' is appointed and these are the people which decided what the MEP's will discuss. The EU has a heart tainted with autocracy covered in a democratic shell. Demonstrating that the EU restrains the United Kingdom legally. Immigration: Now I will be very careful here as I do not want this debate to become centralise about the pros and cons of immigration as I think me and my opponent can both agree that there are both advantages and disadvantages to immigration. However there are many problems with immigration within the EU as it is unchecked and there is no way for Britain to control its borders, linking back to how the Westminster has ceded more power. However I find a central issue is that the EU policy of free travel forces Britain to discriminate against those people from across the globe. This then leads to a question I would much like my opponent to answer: What entitles someone from Poland, France or Germany more rights to live in Britain than someone from America, India or China? Also as the EU has allowed memberships to countries only just recovering from the strains of communism and due to Britain's generous welfare and NHS it becomes a very attractive offer to citizens of these countries. Increasing the pressure on already strained public services. This then could explain the rise of net migration to the UK to 212,000 (2013) [7] and shows that the EU policy of immigration restrains the United kingdom's public services. As an extra point I look like to mention that UKIP's success in the European elections shows, with 72% of Britons are not attached to the EU [8], that there is a increasing Eurosceptic trend within the UK. Surely if this feelings continue to grow the UK should leave solely on democratic means. [1] . https://www.gov.uk... [2] . https://www.gov.uk... [3] . http://www.bbc.co.uk... [4] . https://www.gov.uk... [5] . https://www.gov.uk... [6] . https://fullfact.org... [7] . http://www.bbc.co.uk... [8] . http://www.bbc.co.uk...