British MP (ex-MP now) Shares His Thoughts on the EU and Democracy
Is the EU System Democratic?
Q: Do you think the EU system as a whole is generally democratic in itself?
No, it’s not. The EU is emphatically about suppressing democracy, and this is not just an opinion. Look at the three EU institutions.
The European Commission is unelected, and they are the only people who can propose laws. The European Council, in which we have a 12% share of the votes, frequently outvotes us. Qualified majority voting means that, basically, those we elect no longer really make the decisions, but a group of people who aren’t answerable to us make those decisions, and we have been outvoted repeatedly.
Yes, there is the European Parliament, but the European Parliament is not an effective democratic institution. It is very effective at helping itself to taxpayers’ money and tax free subsidies. It is not a very good institution at holding the European institutions to account.
And again, you can look at this factually. From 2010 to 2014, there were about 1,900 votes in the European Parliament. On about 800 occasions, the majority of British MEPs (those we elected in this country) were against the motion. In 84% of cases, it went ahead anyway. That’s not democracy.
What do you think about Douglas Carswell’s thoughts? Let us know your views on social media.
Brexit Documentary EU Referendum
Is the EU Accountable to British Citizens?
Q: Do you think the EU Parliament or EU system is accountable to British citizens?
No, it’s not. It is not accountable to British citizens. And this is why I think the political elite love it, because it means that they can make public policy without reference to the public. And it is why the public hates it. If we are going to be a true democracy, then I think we need to leave it.
Will Increased Immigration Lead to Higher House Prices and Strain Public Services in the UK?
Q: Do you think that if immigration increases in the UK, where house prices are already going through the roof, there will be more pressure on our public housing and our NHS?
Undoubtedly, migration has put pressure on public services and on housing. But let’s also be clear, there is also pressure on house prices because of the failure of successive generations of British politicians to allow enough houses to be built. You’ve got to be a little bit careful about looking at this in one dimensional terms.
But without question, increased levels of migration… let me put it this way. Over a four year period in the last parliament, two and a half million EU nationals came into the country. We only discovered this three weeks ago because the government took a long time to fess up to the statistics. But that is the equivalent of 19 cities the size of Cambridge.
Now, I think you’ve got to be very careful. If you have that sort of uncontrolled pressure on public services and housing, it is going to have unintended consequences. If we could control migration, we’d be able to plan and make sure we could provide. And that, I think, is a sensible thing for a sensible country to want to do.
Related News: