Agenda item

Membership of the European Union

21.1

It was moved by Councillor Pauline Andrews, seconded by Councillor Jack Clarkson, that this Council:-

(a)      believes that the United Kingdom should vote to leave the European Union and that by leaving the EU, the UK would be safer, stronger, financially better off and free, and that only by leaving can we regain our national democracy, and further believes that the best people to govern Britain are the British people, and that British laws should be decided by our own democratically elected parliament;

(b)      recognises that the EU Membership Referendum is a once in a generation opportunity to take back our own country;

(c)      regrets that £17 billion a year is sent to the European Union from the British tax payer, and notes that this amount of money could build 750 new schools, or 10 new state of the art hospitals and could cover the costs for a period of 25 years of employing 2,000 qualified nurses, or 2,000 trained police officers, or 1,500 GPs, or 2,000 trained soldiers;

(d)      notes that the UK is the 5th largest trading nation in the world, and believes that we don't need to be in a political union in order to trade;

(e)      further notes that by being outside of the European Union, Britain would regain its power to negotiate its own trade deals;

(f)       believes the European Court of Human Rights has become a danger to British democracy and that the UK would be better off without it, allowing British judges to decide how our own laws are implemented;

(g)      believes that by being outside the European Union, Britain would have the power to choose who comes into the UK, whereas, whilst members of the European Union, we have no say, and notes that the European Union has publicly stated that the UK has absolutely no chance of changing EU freedom of movement;

(h)      believes that a vast influx of unskilled labour does not benefit ordinary people in our country, as jobs are put at risk and wages undercut;

(i)       also believes that, with the huge numbers of migrants that have entered our country in the last decade, this puts tremendous pressure on our scarce resources, schools, housing, transport and jobs market;

(j)       notes that mass immigration can lead to access to free education, health care and benefits for many non-contributors;

(k)      regrets that while we are a part of the EU we also have to abide by the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights and cannot withdraw from this and the Court’s demands;

(l)       notes that Britain, once a great sea-faring nation with the greatest trading seaborne empire the world has ever seen, is now reduced to importing fish to satisfy rising domestic demand, with the fish imported being caught in what was previously our fishing waters and subsidised with our own taxpayers’ money;

(m)     believes that we can only stop this by leaving the EU and reclaim what is ours;

(n)      also believes that if we were out of the European Union we could make our own global trade deals, govern ourselves, control our borders and make massive savings; and

(o)      further believes that by being outside of the EU political union, the UK would thrive.

21.1.1

(Note: With the agreement of the Council and at the request of the mover of the Motion (Councillor Pauline Andrews), paragraph (c) of the Motion as published in the Council Summons was altered by adding the word “or” between each of the purposes mentioned in that paragraph for which £17 billion could be used.)

21.2

Whereupon, it was moved by Councillor Jack Scott, seconded by Councillor Steve Wilson, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the deletion of all the words after the words “That this Council” and the addition of the following words:-

(a)       believes that by being part of the European Union we are safer, stronger and financially better off, and that we should vote to remain in the European Union;

(b)       believes that we are financially better off by remaining in the EU and notes that:-

(i)      the EU is Britain’s biggest trading partner;

(ii)     millions of jobs are linked to our EU membership;

(iii)     £26.5 billion is invested in Britain by EU countries every year;

(iv)    almost half of all of Britain’s exports go to the EU; and

(v)     exports to the EU are worth £227 billion a year to the British economy;

(c)       believes that Britain’s membership of the EU helps to tackle issues that transcend national borders, such as climate change, tax evasion and terrorism;

(d)       believes that we are safer by remaining in the EU and notes that thousands of criminals, including terrorists, have been arrested under the European Arrest Warrant;

(e)       believes that being in the EU enhances Britain’s global influence; and

(f)        notes the EU’s contribution to advancing worker’s rights, including the right to holiday pay, paid maternity and paternity leave, anti-discrimination laws, equal pay and protection for agency workers.

21.3

On being put to the vote, the amendment was carried.

21.4

Whereupon, it was moved by Councillor Joe Otten, seconded by Councillor Andrew Sangar, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by the deletion of all the words after the words “That this Council” and the addition of the following words:-

(a)      believes that the United Kingdom should vote to remain in the European Union, for the benefit of our future prosperity and security, as a statement of support for peace and co-operation in Europe and of solidarity against the terrorists and demagogues of the world;

(b)      believes that this referendum is only happening because of the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. David Cameron MP’s weakness in the face of his right-wing backbenchers; and that the UK’s interests have been subordinated to a strategy for managing the Conservative party;

(c)      notes that for a £340 contribution per household to the EU budget, the UK gains £3000 per household in trade, investment, jobs and lower prices as a result of the EU;

(d)      believes that the UK would continue to secure better trade agreements with the rest of the world negotiating as part of the world’s largest single market, and would be in a weaker position negotiating alone;

(e)      supports the continued UK membership of the European Convention on Human Rights, and moral leadership in advancing human rights around the world, whether or not the UK remains in the EU;

(f)       notes that 2.2m UK citizens exercise the right to live elsewhere in the EU, and believes that the freedom to work and travel in the EU is a benefit to all EU citizens, UK included;

(g)      welcomes the 2013 reforms of the Common Fisheries Policy and recognises that co-operation on fisheries is necessary to prevent catastrophic overfishing;

(h)      believes “Brexit” would put at risk co-operation on policing, terrorism and intelligence; and that it is in the UK’s interest to remain in the measures in this area that we have chosen to opt into;

(i)       believes that co-operation on intelligence, terrorism and policing is particularly important to maintain while Europe is under the threat of terrorist attack, and that co-operation is not improved by tearing up the good measures that we have agreed to;

(j)       believes that we should stand by the people of Brussels and Paris following recent attacks, practically and symbolically, and that any sign of us turning our backs on them, such as “Brexit”, would only delight terrorists and would make us all less secure;

(k)      believes “Brexit” would put at risk UK access to the EU single market, threatening 45% of our exports, and notes that, in contrast, only 16% of exports from the rest of the EU come to the UK;

(l)       notes that access to the EU single market, in the cases of Norway and (partially) Switzerland, requires following all of the EU trade rules without having any say in them, allowing free movement of labour, and making payments into the EU budget;

(m)     notes that any trade agreement between the UK and the rest of the EU would require agreement of all 27 remaining EU member states, not all of whom may be motivated primarily by trade, and many of whom are likely to be concerned to save face, maintain free movement, and/or reduce the risk of other countries seeking a better deal by threatening exit;

(n)      notes that Sheffield in particular has benefited from over £1bn of investment from the EU since the 1990s, including in the Advanced Manufacturing Park, Sheffield Station and the Winter Gardens; and

(o)      further notes that, as a city with strong universities, Sheffield benefits disproportionately from EU research funding, including 30% of the University of Sheffield's research funding.

21.5

On being put to the vote, the amendment was negatived.

21.6

The original Motion, as amended, was then put as a Substantive Motion in the following form and carried:-

RESOLVED: That this Council:-

(a)      believes that by being part of the European Union we are safer, stronger and financially better off, and that we should vote to remain in the European Union;

(b)      believes that we are financially better off by remaining in the EU and notes that:-

(i)       the EU is Britain’s biggest trading partner;

(ii)      millions of jobs are linked to our EU membership;

(iii)      £26.5 billion is invested in Britain by EU countries every year;

(iv)     almost half of all of Britain’s exports go to the EU; and

(v)      exports to the EU are worth £227 billion a year to the British economy;

(c)      believes that Britain’s membership of the EU helps to tackle issues that transcend national borders, such as climate change, tax evasion and terrorism;

(d)      believes that we are safer by remaining in the EU and notes that thousands of criminals, including terrorists, have been arrested under the European Arrest Warrant;

(e)      believes that being in the EU enhances Britain’s global influence; and

(f)       notes the EU’s contribution to advancing worker’s rights, including the right to holiday pay, paid maternity and paternity leave, anti-discrimination laws, equal pay and protection for agency workers.