Our future as part of the Europe and that of my children and grandchildren will be decided on the 23rdJune this year. There is a stark choice between an outward looking Britain with a future for young people as part of the EU, or a leap in the dark. Polling stations will be open from 7am until 10pm and I urge all of you to vote remain.
As a Grandfather with three grandchildren, one at University, and two still at school, I want them to have all the opportunities and advantages I wish I could have had at their age. My grandson has the opportunity to study at universities all over the 28 EU member states, his cultural experience has been enriched by the students he has already met that have come to the UK to study. Over 200,000 British students have taken the opportunity to study abroad, and I hope many more have the chance. A vote to leave the EU for them is not some luxury option to cling to an outmoded view of sovereignty; to them membership of the EU guarantees them an outward looking future.Diversity has always enriched Britain and the European Union has helped bridge that gap in the UK. There are many people from the UK living across Europe just as there are EU nationals that have come to the UK. The freedom to study, travel and live across Europe represents an immense value to people of all ages. While older people are free to retire to warmer climes in Spain or Italy, workers can take a high paying job in Germany or France, and young people can inter-rail across Europe. Europe offers great cultural benefits to people of all ages, and by voting remain future generations can continue to enjoy the same benefits we have seen.A vote to leave is a vote for risk. Vote Leave say they’ll walk away from the single market and negotiate a new deal, but they can’t explain what it would be and how long it will take. The truth is if we left, the EU would not give us a better deal than they have for themselves. If we leave the EU we will not get any special trade deals and recession and job losses will surely follow. How can young people looking to start a home and raise a family hope to do so against the average loss of £4,300 for each UK household experts expect if we leave the EU. With £36bn in spending cuts, how will our children hoping to become doctors and nurses in the NHS or teachers in our schools hope to find a job.
Remaining in the EU helps protect jobs, gives us lower prices and helps ensure we have enough money in the economy to protect funding for local schools and hospitals. The EU isn’t perfect, but our future as a nation is brighter and more secure inside it, so that’s why I’ll be voting to remain.
