A couple of weeks ago I came across the ‘Vote for Policies’ website… you go on the site, select some policies and it then tells you which political party you should vote for.
I certainly came across as right wing. I’ve done it one or two times, and I get a slightly different result each time – but what is consistant is that I am mainly Conservative, and right wing. My full results are here.
At uni today, the ‘who will you vote for’ question came up, and some bits of that conversation made my blood boil.
There is a difference between being concerned about immigration, and racism. Yet there are some who automatically assume that anyone thinking of voting UKIP is racist and/or homophobic – and that anyone who wants out of the EU is also racist/homophobic.
Having read UKIP’s website, party policies, etc. I wouldn’t say that UKIP is a racist party – but when you combine its position on the political spectrum with the way in which it which it conducts its campaigns, it is easy to see why it might attract those who hold extreme views. As with every political party, there are extreme wings. The same is true of the Conservatives, Labour, the Lib Dems, the Greens…
Me personally… I am of the opinion that as an island nation, there are only so many people Britain can accept: we need to control immigration better than we do now. This does not mean that I want to ban all foreigners from the country! Britain should always welcome any person of any nationality who wants to come here and work – and pay their taxes – and contribute to our economy.
As for whether Britain would be better off outside Europe – I’m not sure.
Going by what was said at the debate on Friday night… Were Britain to leave Europe, we’d still be looking for a free trade deal with Europe. We would have to pay a fee for that – which would probably not be any different Any product sold in to Europe would still have to conform with EU regulations – yet from outside the EU we’d have no say what those regulations are.
On the other hand: If we leave Britain, we can make free trade agreements with whoever we want; we can take complete control of immigration; we can get rid of the Brussels beurocracy.
I am aware that my paragraph of reasons for staying in the EU is larger than reasons for leaving. Maybe that is saying something.
My plan for the Euro-elections this month is to vote Conservative, and grow Mr. Cameron’s network in Brussels – strengthening the British case for renegotiating our terms with Europe.
I believe it is vital that Britain is able to renegotiate with Brussels, prior to a referendum in 2017.
Only based on that will I make my decision.
Dinner time now… then I’m off to uni to edit my political interviews. We’ve booked the radio studios until 3am.
Good night.
