Jez We Can

you clearly know nothing about Afghanistan nor the middle east

here’s Afghanistan in the 1950′s, 60′s, & 70′s

if you really want to know what caused all the instability & growth of extremist groups I suggest you take a look at the US foreign policy towards Afghanistan during the 80′s

It’s interesting to note that when the communist government came to power in Afghanistan in the late 70′s, one of the first things they did was declare equality of the sexes, made education for girls mandatory, & banned child marriages. The conservative tribal leaders who the US armed & funded (& who later became the Taliban) declared this to be a “war on Islam” & fought against the central government.

The US had no problem back then with encouraging the growth of Islamic conservatism to counter socialism/communism. You created your biggest enemy & you have no one to blame but yourselves.

(1) This referendum is only about migration and not anything else. Let’s not delude ourselves this is about sovereignty or a chance to stand up to austerity. A vote to leave is a vote in support of xenophobia and racism. Britain will become a more dangerous place if those bigots win.

(2) Brexit would cause a recession and increase austerity. The Tories have already said they would increase cuts to services in case of another recession. Investors will inevitably get nervous in the face of so much uncertainty. This means an increase in poverty and real hardships for the most vulnerable people in the UK.

(3) Brexit will not advance any left-wing cause. The European Union did not invent neoliberalism or austerity. Britain is sadly committed to these concepts. If anything, Brexit will remove the few limits on the Tories power.

(4) The sovereignty argument is a red herring. There are problems with democratic accountability in the EU, but that would only matter if there weren’t even bigger problems with the political systems in the UK. Our voting system privileges middle England Tory supporters over everyone else.

(5) Brexit would probably increase the strain on the NHS. Aside from the fact that the Tories would love an excuse to start making cuts, Brexit would mean that most of the 2 million Brits living in the EU have to come home (because they would lose their right to free healthcare). Most of them are elderly.

(6) EU migration is both economically and culturally beneficial to the UK. Between 2000 and 2011, EU migrants made a net contribution of £20 billion to our economy. Our public services would be even worse off without them. 

(7) Brexit will definitely mean job losses. At least 200,000 businesses trade with the EU and this is made possible by the shared regulation applied by the EU. Without that regulation, we lose the trade and people lose their livelihoods.