Britain+and+the+European+Union

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Britain and the European Union

 EU membership countries

__**Party Opinion**__: media type="youtube" key="JkSIerYCXOA?fs=1" height="190" width="320"
 * Conservatives **- For the most part backs the EU but wants to halt political integration in order to return key policy-making powers to the nation states. Conservatives oppose the Lisbon Treaty.

The above video shows the view an anti-European Union view of a conservative party member in Great Britain.


 * Labour -** Backs EU in transnational policies such as climate and security. Wants to ensure the EU supports the UK on jobs, crime, and prosperity. Labour also backs the Lisbon Treaty.
 * Liberal Democrats -** Has always been the biggest proponent of the EU, and still urges the UK to fill its role in and support the EU fully. Much of the support is due to their belief that the EU is the key to climate change and security. Backs the Lisbon Treaty but wants a referendum on Britain's continued membership in order to focus on the more positive aspects of membership.

__**Public Opinion**__: An online poll taken in November and December 2010 shows that, if Britain were to hold a referendum to decide its EU membership, 48% of the public would choose to leave the EU, while only 27% would choose to stay. In addition, 30% say that membership has had "moderately negative" effects on the UK, and 29% believes that it has had "very negative" effects. An identical poll taken last June reveals that the number of responders who believe the EU has had "very positive effects" on the UK has dropped from 7% to 4%, and those who call it "moderately positive" have fallen from 31% to 25%. 80% of poll responders believe that the UK should continue to use the pound as currency instead of the euro. In the most recent Eurobarometer, a public opinion survey on the EU given every spring and fall, the majority of people were unaware. More than half of the population responded saying they did not even know how the European Union functioned. Around 70% of those who voted against any EU integration said they did not understand the role of the EU. (The above charts are based upon the poll taken in November and December of 2010 described in the text.)


 * __Policy__**:
 * The United Kingdom joined the EU in 1973, alongside Denmark and Ireland.
 * Although the euro was introduced in 1995, the United Kingdom prefers to keep its currency as the Pound.
 * The EU Bill was presented in November of 2010 and it states that in the future both the government and the British people will have a say on any further transfer of powers from the UK to the EU. This will insure that the UK will have power regarding this devolution while also connecting the British people to EU decisions.
 * Recently, David Cameron has vowed to keep Britain out of the Euro plan. Furthermore, he declared that neither he nor his cabinet supports Britain giving up more powers to Europe or becoming part of Eurozone mechanisms.



__**Implications**__: The policies requiring the people to have a say on the devolution of power shows the insularity of Great Britain. Insularity has always been an important part of British political culture, so the integration into the EU shows that British adaptability is a more important aspect of the their political culture. The British people have little interest in sharing power with the European Union which shows they are confident in their way of ruling. The British people are full of national pride. In addition, the hesitation of Great Britain points to a more cautious way of politics and a value of tradition.

media type="youtube" key="XfKU-kUIndI?fs=1" height="266" width="332" This is a video of an anti-EU lobbyist who works for Europe of "links, not chains." He theorizes that the total cost of the EU to the UK is about one gold ingot per 100 days...or a new hospital every 3 days...or repairing every single cathedral in the UK every 5 days. While he has an impressive array of ways to creatively show the high cost of EU membership to the UK, he acknowledges that full withdrawal from the organization may not necessarily be the answer; instead, he proposes a slightly lower level of association with the EU to bypass its bureaucracy and regulations.



This cartoon displays the anti-EU sentiments felt my many Britons.



This gives a comical visual of the author's views on the EU. While the EU may want people to believe that it is fully supported by the nations and their people, in reality it is mostly the governments giving aid, and even then the organization is neither as large nor powerful as it appears.