Now that it is legally possible for a Member State to leave the European Union, this webpage will explore the many arguments put forward why the United Kingdom should consider leaving the European Union.

Background

The Treaty of Lisbon became law on 1^st December 2009.  Before the Treaty of Lisbon had been ratified there had been no provision for Member States that wished to leave the EU.  Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon states that; ‘Any Member State may decide to withdraw from the Union in accordance with its own constitutional requirements.’^[1].  Article 50 sets out the strategy for a Member State wishing to leave.

The United Kingdom entered the Union (the Common Market as it was then known) in 1973.  Two years later, there was a referendum asking voters whether the country should remain in Europe.  Over 67% of the electorate agreed (BBC News).  In 2009 the BBC conducted a poll of 1004 adults asking if Britain should leave the EU but maintain close trading links.  55% of those polled said they agreed, 41% disagreed and 5% did not know (BBC Daily Politics).    

The Debate 

Yes the United Kingdom should leave the European Union

• The UK would not lose the benefit of the single market.  Norway and Switzerland are outside of the EU, they have a free trade agreement (EFTA) with the EU allowing them to take advantage of the single market.
• National sovereignty.  ‘In Britain, Parliament is held to be sovereign because no other body has the right to pass and implement laws’^[2].  But since 1973, there has been a large transfer of sovereignty to the EU for three main reasons; first, ‘laws enacted by the Communities are directly applicable in Britain^[3] and secondly ‘British courts must accept and enforce decisions of the European Court of Justice’ ^[4].
• The European Union is undemocratic.  Leaving the European Union will restore full politics governance back to Westminster.  The unelected European Commission has the power to introduce new legislation, and once the legislation has been passed, has the power to use the European Court of Justice to enforce Member States to enshrine the legislation into national law.  Decisions made by the Council of Ministers are made in secret making them unaccountable to Member States.  Also, the European Parliament suffers a crisis of legitimacy due to poor voter turnout.
• The EU is expensive.  In 2010/ 2011 three members of the Eurozone required bailouts from the EU; Ireland, Portugal and Greece.  The contribution that the UK may have to pay to bailout Portugal alone could be around £4bn^[5].  The UK is not even a member of the Eurozone!
• Some policies are expensive and are wasteful.  For example, in 2003 48.3% of European Union spending was on the Common Agricultural Policy alone.  In the 1970s and 1980s, the CAP resulted in overproduction of food, leading to what was dubbed 'butter mountains' and 'wine lakes'^[6].  It also encourages farmers to ‘set- aside’ land; the result was farmers were paid to do nothing.
• A precursor to the EU, the ECSC was founded upon the idea that a union between European nations would prevent any future European wars.  Yet the EU failed to intervene in the Bosnia conflict.  NATO has been, and continues to be, a better source of stability and security in our region.
• The referendum in 1975 did not ask people if they wanted to have an ‘ever closer union’ with Europe, they were asked if they wanted to stay in the Common Market – a free trade area.  Today, no one under the age of 55 has been asked been asked formally on whether they wish to be part of the European Union.  Yet since 1975 there has been a considerable pooling of sovereignty since the UK entered Europe.

No the United Kingdom should stay in the European Union

• The European single market is the ‘the biggest in the world, its environment the best protected, its health and safety standards the highest’^[7].  If Britain were to leave the EU and join EFTA, they would still have to conform to EU rules, such as working hour directives, but have no influence over decisions made.
• Some policies are best made at the European level that are difficult to achieve by states acting alone, policies such as the environment and border controls are much easier managed at the European level because they ‘find common solutions to shared problems’^[8].   
• The Lisbon Treaty has made improvements to the so called democratic deficit by increasing powers to the European Parliament, which is directly elected by European voters.  The European Parliament has more powers to propose and shape legislation under the co-decision principle.
• The European Commission is often criticised for being expensive and is ridiculed by Eurosceptics.  The so called ‘Brussels bureaucracy’ is actually very small compared to national civil services.  
• Britain does not reap the benefits of the Common Agricultural Policy as other Member States because it is a relatively small agricultural producer.  In consequence, Margaret Thatcher negotiated the UK rebate in 1984.  ‘The UK rebate amounts to roughly 66% of the difference between what the UK pays into the budget and what it gets back from the EU’.  In 2009, the rebate was worth ‘£5bn’^[9].
• Though polls may suggest that Britons largely would prefer to leave the EU, Eurosceptic political party UKIP did not receive much popular support at the 2010 General Election.  In May 2010, ‘Ukip did not pick up a single seat and managed just three per cent of the overall vote, with just over 900,000’^[10].