Cyprus-Forum.com

[Tim Drayton]

I wonder how many people recall the popular 1980's sitcom Auf Wiedersehen Pet. This comedy had a factual basis in that many unemployed British construction workers in that period, especially from depressed North East England, were able to work on construction sites in what was then West Germany rather than languish on the dole in a Britain that was witnessing virtually record levels of unemployment. Free movement within the EU is a two-way street. The day may come in the future when British people are grateful for the opportunity to go an find work in Bulgaria and Romania. History has created greater ironies than that.

[Tim Drayton]

It is interesting to note that staying in is clear favourite with the bookmakers.

http://www.oddschecker.com/politics/bri ... hip-result

[Tim Drayton]

I have always been for the EU but (and perhaps my view is a bit "Sun" like) I'm very angry at the fact that currently, for instance, a Romanian can reside and claim benefits in the UK and send £20.50 a week back to his home country for his child even though the child is not in UK. That's the equivalent to £100 a week in UK. I know that in real terms the overseas payments for child allowance is only a tiny proportion of UK welfare expenditure but the fact that our system can be abused in this way makes me say "bugger it, let's get out of EU". There's not much logic to my attitude since I believe our economy may suffer if we leave but sometimes ones heart rules ones head. From the interviews I've seen on TV a significant number of voters think the same way.

I certainly would agree that this appears to be a loophole in the current arrangements and one that probably wasn't anticipated. There perhaps needs to be a rethinking of the way that welfare systems in one EU country apply to migrants from other member countries, especially on their first arrival. I don't think it's an argument for ditching the whole European project, though.

[Paphitis]

Good on ya Cameron!

[miltiades]

Good on ya Cameron!

By the way , Cameron wants to stay in !! Plonker !

[Paphitis]

Good on ya Cameron!

By the way , Cameron wants to stay in !! Plonker !

And he has set a date for Brexit. Mmmmmm go figure!

Cameron is a man of his word. He delivered! This goes well beyond what he wants and finally Brits will have their say.

[Kikapu]

Good on ya Cameron!

By the way , Cameron wants to stay in !! Plonker !

And he has set a date for Brexit. Mmmmmm go figure!

Cameron is a man of his word. He delivered! This goes well beyond what he wants and finally Brits will have their say.

YES, but, if the UK votes to exit the EU, then Cameron and the Conservatives are going to pay a heavy political price down the road when the economy takes a nosedive for all the reasons Erolz talked about earlier, because Cameron never wanted to leave the EU in the first place. He just wanted to blackmail the EU for concessions, which he appears to have gotten, but it may all be for nothing if the referendum goes against what he wants. Be careful what you ask for, because you might just get it and won't be happy with it. Just imagine if the UK votes itself out of the EU and later on wants to get back in again. The EU will be bending the UK over really good before they let it back in again. Also, if the UK is out, then there goes Scotland from the UK for starters and maybe even Wales and NI. As for Turkey, they will be very unhappy for losing one of their strong advocates for their EU membership. Lets see what happens if UK votes to go out of the EU, and lets see how far the shit will fly off the fan!

[Paphitis]

Good on ya Cameron!

By the way , Cameron wants to stay in !! Plonker !

And he has set a date for Brexit. Mmmmmm go figure!

Cameron is a man of his word. He delivered! This goes well beyond what he wants and finally Brits will have their say.

YES, but, if the UK votes to exit the EU, then Cameron and the Conservatives are going to pay a heavy political price down the road when the economy takes a nosedive for all the reasons Erolz talked about earlier, because Cameron never wanted to leave the EU in the first place. He just wanted to blackmail the EU for concessions, which he appears to have gotten, but it may all be for nothing if the referendum goes against what he wants. Be careful what you ask for, because you might just get it and won't be happy with it. Just imagine if the UK votes itself out of the EU and later on wants to get back in again. The EU will be bending the UK over really good before they let it back in again. Also, if the UK is out, then there goes Scotland from the UK for starters and maybe even Wales and NI. As for Turkey, they will be very unhappy for losing one of their strong advocates for their EU membership. Lets see what happens if UK votes to go out of the EU, and lets see how far the shit will fly off the fan!

I can only see a win win by leaving the EU Bureaucracy of technocrats dictating to Governments and people on how they should think and behave.

I couldn't think of anything worse, but I appreciate your opinion.

As for Turkey, if they know what's good for them, they would give the EU a very wide birth.

Look at Greece as the prime example.

[Tim Drayton]

Good on ya Cameron!

By the way , Cameron wants to stay in !! Plonker !

And he has set a date for Brexit. Mmmmmm go figure!

Cameron is a man of his word. He delivered! This goes well beyond what he wants and finally Brits will have their say.

YES, but, if the UK votes to exit the EU, then Cameron and the Conservatives are going to pay a heavy political price down the road when the economy takes a nosedive for all the reasons Erolz talked about earlier, because Cameron never wanted to leave the EU in the first place. He just wanted to blackmail the EU for concessions, which he appears to have gotten, but it may all be for nothing if the referendum goes against what he wants. Be careful what you ask for, because you might just get it and won't be happy with it. Just imagine if the UK votes itself out of the EU and later on wants to get back in again. The EU will be bending the UK over really good before they let it back in again. Also, if the UK is out, then there goes Scotland from the UK for starters and maybe even Wales and NI. As for Turkey, they will be very unhappy for losing one of their strong advocates for their EU membership. Lets see what happens if UK votes to go out of the EU, and lets see how far the shit will fly off the fan!

I have a somewhat different take on the motives. Even though UKIP polled badly at the last elections, they nevertheless represent a real threat to the Conservatives in that they take enough of the right-wing vote to make it harder for the Conservatives to get elected. I think Cameron has taken a huge risk in holding a stark 'in or out' referendum in the hope that the 'stay in' vote wins (as the bookies are predicting) which will then effectively bury UKIP as essentially a single-issue party whose goal will have been rejected by the majority of the voters. I think that explains why so much of the rhetoric is about countering the racist bogus agenda created by the right-wing tabloids over Eastern Europeans claiming benefits (whilst doing jobs like picking fruit for low pay that British people do not want to do) rather than addressing very serious deficits in the EU, such as lack of accountability and excessive bureaucracy, where reform most definitely is called for.

[Tim Drayton]

Good on ya Cameron!

By the way , Cameron wants to stay in !! Plonker !

And he has set a date for Brexit. Mmmmmm go figure!

Cameron is a man of his word. He delivered! This goes well beyond what he wants and finally Brits will have their say.

No, he has set a date for the referendum, actually.