Knowing me, knowing EU.

Even after Theresa May's deal was, once again, voted down by a considerable margin in the House of Commons last night, I had to post this to express my frustration. It will, in no way, scratch the surface of the past three years, but it will give an indication of what I see as serious, fundamental flaws in our society.

• I am a Remainer.
• I think the benefits of EU membership outweigh the disadvantages
• I don't think the EU is perfect
• The EU will continue to exist and thrive if we leave
• We're better in it than out of it but, more importantly, we can effect change from within. We cannot do that from the outside.
• A large number of the issues being attributed to the EU by Leavers and the Leave campaigns are actually the fault of subsequent UK governments
• Whether we like it or not, the world is moving towards globalisation. Agreements, treaties, deals are all part and parcel of modern life. We refuse to take part, we lose out.

Where did it go wrong?

There may be other concerns, but I see five main problems with Brexit and the referendum:

• The result was too close to call. 52 to 48 percent is a tiny amount in the grand scheme of things for something as impactful as Brexit.
• The referendum was advisory only, not legally binding
• The UK government invoked Article 50 without having a clear, detailed plan of what it wanted to achieve
• The whole Brexit process should have been conducted as a cross-party initiative instead of being solely the UK government/Conservatives.
• The lack of accountability is astounding. Lies told in the House of Commons are not called out. The media isn't asking the influencers any difficult questions. Theresa May is bringing the same deal back to the House time after time.

At this stage I should say that I think it's possible to have a Brexit that isn't harmful to the UK, but it requires a longer-term plan than a few years. That's something we don't do in the UK, politically. Had we spent a good few years mapping out the leaving process BEFORE invoking Article 50, with a cross-party committee so everyone is represented, then we could have done something properly that would appeal to more people.

So then we get into my frustrations of what's happened, not happened or been said over the past three years:

"The will of the people"

The referendum result was close to 50:50. Yes, one side "won", but to go full tilt into something without any due diligence (i.e. invoking A50) for "the will of the people" is just wrong. That's a phrase that's only used for a significant majority. I'm throwing figures out there, but say greater than sixty percent. Since then, almost half the voters (and about a third of the UK's population) has simply been consigned to the bin. We're not people any more, we're traitors, Remoaners etc. Our point of view is no longer considered.

"You had your vote!"

The referendum must be respected is a common quote. Theresa May has used something along those lines herself, as if people cannot change their mind. And you have to expect that, if the referendum was run right now, that the result might be different given the closeness of the numbers last time and more detailed information at hand. And yet that smacks of hypocrisy from May. We cannot vote again on whether to leave, but we've already had TWO votes on her own Brexit deal that have been voted down by HUGE numbers in the House of Commons with whispers that she might even consider a third Meaningful Vote.

There is now massive evidence that we'll be worse off after Brexit (and disastrously worse off in a No Deal scenario)

Some figures I saw this morning stated that imported clothing (in general) could rise by 15%, imported food could rise by 40%. We could be forced to adopt American food standards that are much lower than our current standards from the EU (look at American stats for salmonella deaths versus the EU's).  We're currently protected by being a member of the EU in terms of what appears to be small, albeit impactful things like mobile roaming charges, visa charges for visiting EU countries.

The uncertainty of Brexit and/or No Deal has already cost the country millions, if not billions of pounds.

Manufacturing companies that rely on JIT (just in time) supplies are moving away or closing down. Brexit hasn't even happened yet. People are already losing their jobs due to closures and relocation. The damage may never be repaired.

Brexit has the potential to be dangerous.

JIT is also a massive concern for the NHS - a lot of our pharmaceuticals are brought in on this basis. The current estimate for a lot of medication is we have a few weeks worth of stuff on hand at any  one time. Any increase on  the amount of time it takes cargo to get into the country (any kind of Brexit will increase this), will have serious repercussions.

Note I said potential here. This is not Project Fear, this is a valid concern as issued by the NHS themselves. Unless we figure this out beforehand,  then people's health could be at risk.

Immigration will not change.

The UK needs immigration to function, to fill jobs that we cannot fill ourselves. Closing off EU immigration only gives rise to non-EU immigration. Other countries will ask for preferential immigration treatment for its citizens as part of any trade deal. The failings around UK immigration over the past ten, twenty years has been the government's, not the EU's.

I could go on, but it concerns me a great deal that statistics and facts mean nothing and sound bites and feelings have more strength and influence on something as important and potentially destructive/beneficial (depending on your point of view).