I have been running a poll on DGB for the past couple of weeks to try and determine what the industry’s opinion of EU membership is right now. As you’ll be aware there is going to be a referendum at the latest by the end of 2017 if not earlier, in which we’ll vote as a country to stay or leave the European Union. I wanted to try and find out how the industry intended to vote right now.
Two polls
I am hoping to get as many votes in as possible so that in a few weeks time I can write an analysis post with the most accurate results possible. The more of you that take a second to vote, the better the results will be and we’ll have a clearer understanding of how the industry feels about the European Union right now.
These are the results of the poll at the time of writing:
Yes – I want to stay in the EU – 15 votes
No – I want to leave the EU – 32 votes
Not sure – I need out of the facts – 7 votes
The “No” vote is clearly in front at the moment, with over half the votes cast falling in that option.
I am going to run a second poll though. The current one is roughly two years away from the actual referendum, and there is a lot of fact finding and campaigning to do from the “Yes” and “No” camps before any actual votes are cast. So as we get near to the finishing line I am going to run a second poll and close it just before the real poll opens. That way not only will we be able to see if there has been a swing to one side or the other, but we’ll get a more accurate view of how we think our industry is going to vote when it comes to polling day.
I am contacting people and companies to ask them to vote themselves and to spread it around their offices so that we can get as diverse and widespread vote as possible. Like I said, the more that vote, the more accurate and representative the results will be.
My vote
To set my stall out, right now I’ll be voting no. For me, Europe imposes far too many laws and directives, and meddles way too much in the way we do things. You only need to look at things like CE Marking and the upcoming Window Energy Ratings scrapping to see that. Both are things our industry doesn’t need to happen, but did and will.
I pains me to see how much we pay per year to be part of the EU, when that money could be spent on important issues here in the UK. I also don’t buy the argument that if we left the EU then trade agreements would suffer. You can’t honestly say that if we left, the rest of the continent would suddenly stop buying the things we make and the things they need. That would be very short sighted and childish.
These are just my thoughts. I welcome yours, whether you agree or disagree, via the comments section below. And here is the poll for you to continue to carry on the voting.
