I am another who wholeheartedly voted for a common market, but not fiscal and political union. I do not in any way consider myself a "Little Englander" both my parents being only part English, a lot of my extended family live overseas, my first husband was foreign. I do not live on a diet of Brown Windsor Soup, boiled cabbage or have dreams of England being a superior nation that still rules the world. I wish Nick Clegg would stop droning on in that "the whole world has moved on" mode as if anyone who doesn't embrace the idea of the United States of Europe is living in some bygone time warp and is suspicious of all things foreign. We don't like the European Union as it is because it is undemocratic even the late great Tony Benn subscribed to that point of view. We have been told that we are unlikely to get the changes that would make it more palatable to much of the electorate.
When I go over to Europe I want it to be bloody foreign that's why I'm going there, God forbid we all end up some homogenised mass, there are distinct differences between England and the rest of Europe, it's something to celebrate, it's called diversity.
I find the idea that Nigel Farage may at some stage in the future turn into some dictator figure laughable. He has in fact pointed out that the far right is alarmingly on the march in some member states. The majority party in Hungary is overtly anti semitic and also waged hate campaigns against the Roma gypsy population. Yet these are the people that we are expected to climb into bed with and Nick Clegg seems to believe that Europe will be a safer place affiliating ourselves with political parties that hold views akin to Adolf Hitler. The reason why Nigel Farage resonates with some is that they feel patronised by the career politicians who daily demonstrate the contempt they feel for the ordinary people of this country.
England has been great in assimilating many different people for centuries, I wouldn't be here today if my grandfather and various great grandparents hadn't decided to settle in England, but previous immigration was gradual not the tidal wave that we have had over the last few years. Undoubtedly there have been positives, but there have been downsides too, lack of affordable housing, lack of school places, hot housing, people trafficking, towns where locals feel displaced, unscrupulous gangmasters, exploitation wages. Deborah Orr recently wrote in the Guardian that the real scandal Labour should be focusing on is not the cost of living but the appalling way some employers treat their staff now. I gather our Business Secretary has done very little to get rid of the disgusting zero hour contracts.
These are very real concerns that many people wish to discuss. We are also frequently told that many British people are dependent on jobs in Europe, I can't help feeling that a lot of those would be high fliers and would possibly have the credentials to work in any part of the world. I would like to know how many ordinary people from this country, such as tradespeople and those who would wish to go to work in cafes and shops manage to secure employment in mainland Europe.
The nuts and bolts are not discussed enough and our politicians exude an attitude that the little person is too stupid to be given a referendum. Nigel Farage may not be ideal but he has stepped into a void that has been waiting to be filled.
