Author Archives: Stevan Rose

Controlled migration with free movement – squaring the circle

By Stevan Rose | Fri 1st July 2016 - 10:07 am

No matter how we try and fool ourselves, migration issues played a substantial part in the Leave vote, and many Remain voters, myself included, voted to remain despite reservations about immigration levels. Doubtless racism played a part, perhaps 2 million of those Leave votes representing the percentage that the BNP received in 2009. The racists didn’t stop being racist, they simply moved to a new home. But over 90% of the 33 million voters were not racists.

When you dig down further as to why people are concerned about migration there is a common theme. As a country we have hugely expensive housing whether buying or renting. We have a creaking and overcrowded public transport infrastructure that is painful to negotiate and roads with commuter jams at 6:00am. We have a healthcare system that cannot cope with the demand yet struggles to pay off PFI stupidity promoted by Brown. We have schools that cannot deliver the quality our kids deserve and in some areas are hamstrung by the number of children with a poor grasp of basic English. Our infrastructure was not built for the numbers of people now trying to use it, and yet still more come in never-ending numbers. Patience has snapped and we must deal with it.

Freedom of movement is a precious right, for me probably the most important, although when it was first established it was reasonably balanced. The freedom to import labour at will, whether for agriculture or high tech projects, is critical to our economic success. And the EU will not allow us the benefits of unfettered access to the free market without freedom of movement whatever fantasyland Boris is currently living in. So we are in a near impossible position. What we need in terms of free trade relies on conceding free movement that we cannot cope with.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged brexit and immigration | 37 Comments

EU Referendum: Brexit-proof facts

By Stevan Rose | Wed 8th June 2016 - 10:35 am

I have been a committed European Unionist for over 35 years and could once quote the Treaty of Rome as a party piece until the invitations dried up. This referendum is critical to all of us and I have been robust in criticising those aspects of the Remain campaign that I feel undermine the credibility of the real arguments. It was Brexit that kicked off with misleading numbers and daft claims. They were ridiculed quite rightly and we should not follow their lead. The referendum will be won on the credibility of our arguments, which must be Brexit-proof. I accept it is tedious to see someone like me criticising those who have tried to put forward constructive points. So I’m setting out my own view of the major Brexit-proof points I believe we should be promoting on the doorstep, with friends, family and colleagues.

According to the CBI, the economic benefits of EU membership amount to £4,000 net per family.

According to the CBI our net contribution is £116 per person: we get £8 back for every £1 we put in.

Migration from outside the EU is higher than from inside. We can control non-EU migration but are not doing so. That’s our fault, not the EU’s. Under the deal struck by Cameron EU migrants do not get benefits until they have contributed.