Open letter to the Prime Minister
THANK YOU Mr Cameron - The most powerful impact of a resounding IN vote will be a vital new leadership role for the UK in the EU. With renewed confidence and credibility, the UK will have much more clout in Brussels.Radical change is needed and it has started with an EU information revolution. At last people are getting the message: - The UK needs to move from the back of the European bus to the driving seat where it belongs!
THANK YOU Mr Cameron
You've taken one hell of a risk but at last the BBC has woken up to the fact that the UK is part of the EU, that the EU works with us, not against us, and Europe is here not 'over there'! At last the great British public are learning about the EU and demanding more facts so they can make informed choices! This is something our public service broadcaster should have started four decades ago when we first joined the EU. I only hope it's not too late!
THANK YOU Mr Cameron
It may not be your game plan, but successive UK Governments have at last been exposed for failing to explain the reality of EU decision-making. Many prefer to point the finger at 'Brussels' for problems and claim national credit for success stories! It's time to own up to the fact that it is our elected representatives who make EU laws. If the EU is not democratic, why do we elect Members of the European Parliament every five years?
THANK YOU Mr Cameron
You may want to reduce the number of migrants in the UK but the real value of their contribution to our economy has finally come to light. Most are here to nurse our sick, pick our crops, serve our tourists and do jobs many of us won't. They deserve our respect. Illegal immigrants will always be as unwelcome as migrants should be welcomed. We should also give more space, support and sustenance to refugees on our shores.
THANK YOU Mr Cameron
You've been seriously short on positive EU stories, but at last we're learning the EU is good for us. It buys our goods and protects our workers, our consumers and our environment. It supports our farmers, helps our students, builds roads, and much, much more. The UK is also good for the EU. Granted, some EU Member States see the UK as a break on progress and might prefer if we left the bus, but most, particularly in Northern and Eastern Europe, want us to stay and lead the way.
THANK YOU Mr Cameron
You may not realise, but the confusion, frustration and inability to understand the EU has taught us a vital lesson about our education. Our schools need to teach more about the history of peace in Europe, not just the history of war. We also need more language learning to broaden horizons, young and old, and we need to capitalise on the huge opportunities available for UK citizens to work and travel in the EU as English becomes the 'Lingua Franca' of Europe.
THANK YOU Mr Cameron!
Your negotiation strategy may have been weak but at last the EU is discovering how desperately it needs to get closer to citizens. Our public servants in the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council are finally coming to terms with the reality that citizen information, understanding and awareness must be an essential part of any policy-making process. Brussels will now hear the voice of all UK voters and act on the result. That's real democracy!
THANK YOU Mr CameronIt may be a high-wire act but at last the issue of the role of the UK in the EU, which has dogged governments for decades, can be put to bed! At last you can get on with sorting out our health service, creating more jobs, helping refugees, resolving our financial crisis, reforming the EU and ensuring we hold our head high in the world alongside our fellow EU Member States without having to look over your shoulder at your back-benchers!BONNE CHANCE Mr CameronLet's make sure the lessons learned from this roller-coaster referendum, whether in Birmingham, Belfast, Barcelona, Budapest or Brussels will make the experience worth every penny or every cent we ever gave to, or got back from, our friends in the EU.
Thanks to you, Mr Cameron, Brussels is no longer faceless, foreign and too far away. It's on our doorstep, it does us good, we do it good and, with a louder voice after the referendum, we can do it even better. By staying IN, together, we can do ourselves, the EU, Europe and the world proud!YoursJane Morrice(Writing in her personal capacity)Member EESC, European Movement, Britain stronger INJane Morrice is a former BBC reporter, Former Head of the EC Office Northern Ireland, Former Deputy Speaker NI Assembly, Former Deputy Chief NI Equality Commissioner, Former Vice President EESC.
