I am not a member of, nor do I align myself with, any
political party; but I do vote. I do not vote for the politician or the party
that I agree with the most, but rather, for whoever agrees with me the most.
When I’m not too sure, I tend to vote for those parties that have absolutely no
chance of getting elected: the rationale being that I will have a clear conscience
when the elected proceed to work on behalf of the powerful global super-rich,
who facilitated their election, instead of working on behalf of the people who
voted for them.
So who will get my vote on May 22nd in the
European elections? Which politicians
out there agree with me the most on the following issues?
1)
I challenge the logic of sending out vast
amounts of UK tax-payers
money to Brussels to have a chunk of that eaten
up by bureaucrats/Eurocrats in Brussels before
shipping a portion back to the UK
to fund worthy causes in the Arts etc. While some of the EU funded projects are
indeed worthy I think it would be more efficient and cost-effective to simply
fund the projects direct from the UK.
2)
I believe having some immigrants in this country
is advantageous for our local economy and healthy for our society. The majority
of the immigrants that I have gotten to know in Northern Ireland are sincere
hard-working people who make a genuine effort to integrate into our
community. Some of them are actually a
lot of fun as well. The problem is in some parts of the UK immigration
is spiralling out of control. It seems to me that this is just an extension of
the government strategy of contracting the bulk of our manufactured goods out
to cheap labour in poorer countries. Always having a low-paid dependent labour force ensures greater profits and cements control for the super-rich. A
more balanced immigration policy is required: one that celebrates the positive aspects of immigration, protects the rights of the immigrant worker while ensuring sensible balanced control.
3)
For Northern
Ireland we need representatives in Brussels who will work to develop a more manufacture-based,
self-reliant, Private Sector driven economy as opposed to the current unsustainable
Public-Sector based economy.
4)
Perhaps a positive aspect of current EU
governance is the stringent laws on protecting the environment. It is so easy
to turn a blind eye to detrimental effects to our local environment caused by some
large scale industrial and agricultural practices. The blind eye is usually in
the interests of short-term local economic and political gain. We need politicians
who genuinely care about protecting our air, water and wildlife (especially our
bees) in the interest of long-term sustainability. We need more focus on developing renewable energies.
5) The
European Union has evolved into something else since the notion of a Common
Market was first discussed in the 1950’s. The recent big push to get all EU
countries to sign up to a single currency seems to be another step in the
direction of a United States of Europe: to fulfil the master plan for those
seeking complete control and dominance. I love Europe
as it is: the people and the diversity of their cultures, language and
traditions. I don’t want to see that all homogenised and controlled by a regime
that would be even more impossible to hold to account than our present
administrations.
6) We need politicians who will not support British involvement in foreign wars for the primary purpose of potential expansion of wealth and power: in such places as Iraq and Syria. The EU's expansionist policies have undoubtedly been a factor in the very dangerous situation currently developing in Ukraine.
6) We need politicians who will not support British involvement in foreign wars for the primary purpose of potential expansion of wealth and power: in such places as Iraq and Syria. The EU's expansionist policies have undoubtedly been a factor in the very dangerous situation currently developing in Ukraine.
7)
I’m not
too sure whether the best option for the UK is to simply get out of the EU
or to negotiate new agreements more akin to the original Common Market concept.
What we do need urgently is a national debate followed by a referendum on UK membership
of the EU.
Should any political
party empathise with my viewpoints and would like me to vote for you, do get in
touch. As no politician has ever ventured down my long winding lane to solicit
my vote I’ll make it easy: email me on willie@theulsterfolk.com
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