Britain and the EU – A Balanced View
The South East Cornwall branch of UKIP hosted a debate at Lostwithiel Community Centre on Saturday 24th May. The aim was to open the meeting to the wider community and encourage everyone to have their say. The turn out was good and the level of discussion very stimulating.
David Lucas opened by giving a list of the benefits of our membership of the EU and this was then countered by Roger Knapman MEP. Trevor Colman spoke about the post office closures, which generated a lively debate about state-owned monopolies and the unique system provided by the Royal Mail. Stephanie McWilliam (UKIP PPC for S E Cornwall) then talked about the local issues affected by EU regulations, before the meeting was opened up to wider debate.
One of several other topics covered was the effect of the UK Independence Party splitting the Conservative vote and reducing their chance of taking the seat from the Liberal Democrats. However, the UKIP view on this is that it is irrelevant which of the three main parties are in office in Westminster if we are governed from Brussels. Stephanie stated that she would stand against the Conservatives as the only choice for people who felt strongly about the EU and wanted us to withdraw. Only if the Conservative party position changed significantly and gave an assurance that the people would be consulted would she step aside.
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