Today is election day in the UK and many are abuzz with what could take place. All of the live poll trackers are reporting neck and neck votes all day long making it the "Most Unpredictable UK Election in Decades (link here)." The article says that neither of the two main parties (the Conservative Party and the Labour Party) are "likely to win a majority of seats as voters defect to newly popular fringe parties." Furthermore, the article mentions that if the Conservative Party of PM David Cameron wins there will be a referendum to discuss whether or not the UK should leave the European Union.
All parties involved in the elections are basing their platforms on different aspects of the shortcomings of recovering since the financial crises. Do you see the ideas of Wolf playing out in the way "fringe parties" are becoming more and more popular throughout Europe? I wonder how serious you think the discussions of the UK leaving the EU are? And if this indicates a certain demise of the marriage of the EU.
I found the graph showing voting intentions from 2010 to now interesting; amazing how the conservative and labour parties are so dead close. Ultimately UK leaving the EU will depend on which party wins. If Cameron wins then it is a possibility. Differently from a Labour government that would reply on support from elsewhere, as the article states. It seems like the Conservative party is going to win. I still think some sort of demise like you mentioned is in the forecast, but whether that is in the long term or short term, I don't know.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting situation. I agree with a lot of what Cam said. However, I do not like the idea of the UK leaving the EU. I think this would cause a lot of issues politically, financially, and globally. Many countries in the EU are unhappy though, so its demise seems inevitable in the future.
ReplyDeleteThe conservative party ended up winning so I think there is a real possibility that the UK considers leaving the EU. Personally, I don't think that it would have near the repercussions that another country leaving would have. The UK operates on the pound so currency would not play a factor. I think this is the key reason why leaving would make sense, especially when monetary policy needs to be specifically targeting their problems.
ReplyDeleteLike Nolan said, the conservative party ended up winning the majority of votes. I also agree with Nolan in that it the UK leaving the EU will be similar to a good divorce as described by Wolf and that the UK's financial problems are not completely similar to the rest of the EU because a different currency is used. I personally believe that the UK should leave the EU before they are affected more by the financial problems of the other EU countries (i.e. Greece).
ReplyDeleteI think that Veeral's point that the UK should leave the EU before they are affected more by the financial problems of other countries such as Greece is really interesting. I think this highlights some of the problems with the EU that we discussed in class. Ultimately, the countries of the EU need to look out for their own citizens and in that way the EU is doomed to fail if not all decisions benefit all of the countries. Wolf discuses this situation when comparing the EU to the United States. Unlike when one state is doing poorly, when one country is doing poorly, there is not the same incentive to help that country at the expense of your own.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the previous comments. I can see why leaving the EU seems appealing. Also, I think maybe is won't be a bad idea for the UK to leave the EU before they become severely affect their economy. Therefore, I would also agree with Veeral's statement. However, I am not sure if leaving is a plausible option that can be taken for the country and if so, how would that be done.
ReplyDeleteThe UK is also a major power in the EU and financially contributes much more than the vast majority of other EU member states. Unfortunately, being a member state in the EU is much less beneficial for powerful, contributing states, and the UK would have a reasonable argument to withdraw their membership.
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