The European Union

Since 1973 when the British first joined the European Union their membership has been a controversial issue. When conservatives in the United Kingdom won the general election in 2015, their election manifesto promised to hold a referendum on whether or not the United Kingdom should stay or leave the European Union. The referendum also referred to as “Brexit” is scheduled to take place by the end of 2017. The United Kingdom initially joined the union to be part of the common market for the purpose of trade and to develop international relationships. The main argument for those who are pro Brexit is that being part of the European Union is too costly for the United Kingdom, that the EU has grown to large, has interfered to far into

There are various factors behind the possible leaving the EU. There is a growing concern among the Brexit when EU exists as a superpower and the status of Britain is threatened. Questions also arise as what benefit Britain

Immigration is the most commonly cited reason in the media, both within and outside the UK, but how true is this really? Opinion polls conducted before the vote showed that for many British people the subject was indeed a major concern, but it was not necessarily a case of wanting to close the borders; many voters felt that the system discriminated against skilled people from outside the EU. Another concern

The harsh truth is that our economy accounts for just 3% of the world economy and that figure shrinks every year. Despite the EU knocking down trade barriers, the 'NO ' camp claim that our poor trade with other countries are refraining us from economic prosperity. Again, this is false. UK sales to the BRICS nations was only 6.6% of our exports in 2012. This is paltry compared to the EU, who make up the majority of our exports. And no wonder, with free access to a market holding 500 million consumers, British businesses are taking full advantage of this. The nations that supposedly hold the key to our future don 't even want us to leave the EU. The Australia foreign minister commented that, "strong, active membership of the EU" contributes to the power of our economy. The USA President, Mr. Obama, recently said, "EU membership is necessary to keep UK 's global influence." And China, which is seen as the golden nation for us to export to, has briefed that they see Britain as, "an old European country only good for travel and study." Back home, our great businesses have talked out against leaving Europe one by one. A survey for CBI found 78% of our big employers reject leaving the EU. A separate survey found that 84% of small businesses wanted to stay in the single market. And large corporations such as Goldman Sachs, CitiGroup and JP Morgan have all said they 'd switch new business to central Europe. A

Perhaps the greatest uncertainty associated with leaving the EU is that no country has ever done it before, so no one can predict the exact result. One of the biggest advantages of the EU is free trade between member nations, making it easier and cheaper for British companies to export their goods to Europe. However some economic researchers believe these savings outweigh the billions of pounds in membership fees Britain would save if it left the EU. The UK would also risk losing some of its negotiation power internationally by leaving the trading bloc, but it would be free to establish trade agreements with non-EU countries.

The future of the United Kingdom has never been so uncertain. The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, is keeping the promise he made in 2015, to hold a referendum on whether or not the United Kingdom should remain a member of the European Union. The referendum will take hold on Thursday, 23rd of June of this year. But the results of the last opinion poll held on April 12th to 14th, show, that the British public is fairly evenly split, as 40% want to remain in the European Union and 39% want to leave. The members of the United Kingdom Independence party and other British keen to leave the Union, argue that the UK and its policy makers are being held back and manipulated by the EU, who make too many rules for business, immigration laws and charges billions of pounds a year in membership fees for little in return and undermining the British interests. However, the UK’s investment in the membership and acceptance of rules of the EU, gives the UK far more benefits by allowing it to grow academically, economically and ensures safety for all its citizens and is therefore better off staying a member of this peacemaking Union.

"Across the U.K., polls showed that only about 19% of people between the ages of 18 and 24 supported a British exit—the Brexit—from the E.U. Among pensioners, who came of age before the E.U. was created, a staggering 59% wanted their country to leave. And when all of

January 1st ,1973 is the day the UK became a member of the European Economic Community (EEC), (BBC.com, 1973). Which then at November 1st, 1993 became a pillar of the European Union (EU) as it is known today. The EU intends to achieve economic coordination and benefits among its members by changing regulations and laws concerning employment, EU budget, immigration, education, and culture. And Introducing agreements like free trade. Brexit is the Act of the UK leaving the EU. A referendum, which is a popular vote that aims to resolve a political issue, was made on 26th of June 2016. The UK has voted to leave the EU by 51.9% to 48.1%. This decision can have immense impact on both the UK and EU since many laws and regulations

As a British citizen studying in the US, I am constantly asked what is happening back in my home country. Many Americans, who, understandably, do not fully comprehend the situation in Europe, were completely shocked that a ‘small’ nation such as Britain would choose to vote itself out of such a powerful union. Therefore, let me begin by explaining why the UK government held a referendum in the first place.

Currently the government is deeply divided on the issue. The Labour Party is against the exit, while the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats support a British exit or a "Brexit". Even though the two main parties are wrestling control, The United Kingdom Independence Party, or UKIP, has won the sweeping majority of the seats in the European Parliament. As a result of this election the UKIP, according to the Guardian will be the influential party in Britain as they now control the European Parliaments, and since they control the seats, a Brexit will now be impossible to avoid in the European arena (Harris). According to Tim Oliver 's paper "Europe without Britain", Mr Oliver says that the only way for Britain to leave the EU the government needs to negotiate a way out as the Britain and the EU need to change their regulations to its own as their no longer need to conform to each other 's rules (Oliver 12). So what Mr Oliver is saying is that it is easy to withdraw from EU membership. All the countries need to do is to set a referendum to let the people decide.

British Citizens made a choice on the 23rd June 2016, to leave the European Union. The UK has been a member of the European Union (EU) since 1973 and the EU gives many economic benefits to member’s countries, such as free movement of labour, harmonisation of regulations and the stability of being in the world’s largest trade block within 28 united countries.

The United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union to curb the large influx of immigration and ultimately create a more pure form of sovereignty.

There are two main sides to this conflict. The first side is made up of the people who voted to leave the European Union, while the other is of the people who voted to stay. The people who voted to leave believe that the European Union is far too powerful, and that because of this, the United Kingdom has lost much of its voice, having little influence as an individual nation. They see a dying EU, struggling to retain power by forcing other nations to follow the guidelines it sets. The side that voted to stay make the point that for the UK to have a voice, it needs to be a part of the EU. It needs to be working alongside like-minded countries to have a real impact on the work. People for the EU also state there would be economic and political repercussions because of Brexit.

In 1776, we saw the American Colonies breakaway from the ruling British Empire. Nearly 250 years later, we see the complete opposite. In a 2016 referendum, British Prime Minister David Cameron and Parliament voted to leave the European Union. The European Union, which wanted to unite all the European countries, is currently butting heads with the British Government and current Prime Minister Theresa May. This battle has been steadfast over the past year with multiple votes from the British people and government officials. If the votes pass, then Britain is on track to leave the E.U. by April of 2019. The lead up to this break differs between most people. However, the reason for this split is immigration, the safety for national

The European Union and the United Kingdom have a long history. Winston Churchill himself is credited with bringing about the idea for the EU as a “United State of Europe”. Many in the U.K are now starting to feel that this may not be the best alliance the U.K could be in. The EU is seen by many Brits as being too much oversight for too little gains. The U.K does not even identify as majorly European, and therefore believe they should not have the oversight of the EU. The United Kingdom leaving the EU should be seen as a major issue, and may be a reality by the end of the decade. If this were to happen it would have major geopolitical effects on the EU as a whole.