The United Kingdom should leave the European Union

This round will consist of 2 parts, first a rebuttal in order to save on economic grounds then onto my second argument, which I have dubbed ‘The Briton First Fallacy’. I will be citing Pro’s sources as well shown as [Pro #] to distinguish from my sources. First let me address UK exports. The 52% cited was most definitely UK exports to the EU, not the other way around. Source [Pro 1] is only talks about UK exports, not imports. In my research roughly 50% was a common figure [1][3:(pg 23)] in exports to the EU. However it would seem this statistic is dated by a couple years. The recent economic slump in the EU has caused total exports to drop from roughly 50% to 44% as reported by the ONS. Now the contention [Pro 1] brings up is the claim the real figure is 36%, not 44%. However I contest this number. First, this statistic was found by the Britain-Out faction, such bias makes me question its merit. Mainly because if the original report decided include transit exports as part of the total exports there must be good reason. Perhaps the reason why the UK can even afford to use Belgium and the Netherlands as transit hubs is because of the decreased trade barriers caused by membership in the EU! And besides, even if 36% is the real number, that is still a substantial part of the UK export market. Were the UK to leave, there would still be great economic loss. It will be far more profitable for the UK to stay in the EU and trade with its rich neighbors than to exit and seek investment elsewhere. Pro says that the UK is set to the largest economy in Europe. However what [Pro 4] doesn’t mention is the EU membership status. We can only assume that the predictions made by CEBR in regards to the UK’s future economic rise correspond with its continued membership in the EU. In regards to Norway and regulation; Pro seems to think that the UK will be able to negotiate better trade policy with the EU while outside it. However, unlike Norway, the UK has a massive trade deficit with the EU. To quote CER “the UK would be wrong to assume that it could dictate terms in any negotiation with the EU by virtue of the fact that it is running a trade deficit. First, the EU buys half of Britain’s exports whereas the UK accounts for little over 10% of exports from the rest of the EU … Second, half of the EU’s trade surplus with the UK is accounted for by just two member-states: Germany and the Netherlands” [3] (pg 28). On to regulation, Pro brings up the how Norway only adopted roughly 4,700 regulations while the UK had to adopt over 50,000. This can be explained for 2 reasons, first, Norway is not a full member and thus does not need to adopt so many, and Norway already has a more regulated economy, so it would not need to adopt new laws. Compared to Britain, the 2nd least regulated Western economy and full member of the EU. Again, these regulations are justified in order to create a single market. Pro mentions wanting the UK to have more sovereignty over agriculture, however the EU subsidizes farming in the UK, and many farmers need said funding just to break even [5]. The Britain First Fallacy This section will have to be shorter than expected. But I will highlight why Britain’s rational for leaving is short sighted, selfish and ungrateful. It is short sighted simply based on the economics of it; don’t forget the £130 billion EU effect. I believe the UK is threatening to leave simply because it wants to be treated as special. It wants to be first among equals. We can see this in the way the UK operates as a member. It is the only country that gets a rebate, and by percent of income the UK pays the least into the EU [Pro 2]. How unfair to the rest of the EU that the 6th largest economy in the world contributes a lesser percent of its income than any other. Another area where the UK seeks special favor is immigration; while every member has agreed to open borders and free movement (a corner stone in the EU plan) the UK thinks it doesn’t think have to abide. When the EU is in an economic crunch who do we turn to? Britain? No, they are too busy trying to cut and run. It is Germany that is fighting to preserve the EU. If Britain considers itself an honorable nation it will not abandon its allies in the name of (non-existent) profits. In summary: I reiterate the economic importance the EU represents for the UK. If the UK seeks to be the largest economy in Europe it can only do so with the EU. The UK can’t copy Norway’s policy, and the UK relies on the EU for farm subsidies. Finally, Britain seeks to leave because it wants more special favors. We do not see Germany, the country that is holding up the EU now, complaining and threatening to leave like a child because of temporary setbacks. The UK should stand by its friends and work to revive the Euro, not threaten an already wounded system with more turmoil. [5] http://www.theguardian.com...