Supporter holding banners cross the road during a Vote Leave event. (Photo: Neil Hall/Reuters/Newscom)
On June 23 citizens of the United Kingdom will have the opportunity to choose freedom, sovereignty, and independence from the European Union.
Americans, knowing a thing or two about fighting for independence from a certain European nation ourselves, should cheer on our cousins across the Atlantic.
The British exit from the continental government—or “Brexit”—has been a long time coming. The referendum is the first time in 40 years that the British people have had an opportunity to assess their membership in the European Union.
In 1975, 67 percent of British voters supported membership in the European Economic Community. But as it evolved into the European Union we know today, more and more power flowed away from the people and toward bureaucrats in Brussels. Now, polls indicate a majority of citizens of the United Kingdom are planning to vote “Leave.”
Americans, knowing a thing or two about fighting for independence from a certain European nation ourselves, should cheer on our cousins across the Atlantic.
The British exit from the continental government—or “Brexit”—has been a long time coming. The referendum is the first time in 40 years that the British people have had an opportunity to assess their membership in the European Union.
In 1975, 67 percent of British voters supported membership in the European Economic Community. But as it evolved into the European Union we know today, more and more power flowed away from the people and toward bureaucrats in Brussels. Now, polls indicate a majority of citizens of the United Kingdom are planning to vote “Leave.”
The European Union has become an overregulated and undemocratic institution.This is a good thing. The European Union has become an overregulated and undemocratic institution. In a time when Islamist terrorism is rising worldwide and mass immigration is occurring throughout Europe, Britain’s right to create its own border laws has been taken away by the European Union.
Furthermore, any law passed in a British court can be overruled by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.
By leaving the European Union, Britain will be able to control its own borders, restore its own legal system, and save a considerable amount of money by not having to pay European Union membership.
Britain will be free from the seemingly endless number of the European Union’s costly laws, permitting economic and job growth. Though more than 90 percent of the U.K. economy is not involved in trade with the EU, these laws create an unnecessary pressure on small and medium sized businesses.
Although being a member of the European Union is clearly not in the best interest of the U.K., President Barack Obama has called on it to remain. During his visit to London in late April, Obama warned the British people that leaving the European Union would place the U.K. at the “back of the queue” for trade discussions.
This is an empty threat. The special relationship between our two countries will make trade agreements a priority for this Congress and the next.
Nor should the U.K. be afraid of Obama’s bullying. Undemocratic restrictions made by foreign leaders are why so many citizens of the U.K. want to leave the European Union in the first place. They shouldn’t be beholden to either Brussels or the White House.
While leaving the European Union will allow for Great Britain to re-establish its sovereignty, the U.S. could also benefit from the U.K.’s departure. America’s closest ally would be able to act independently and more efficiently, without the constraint of the European Union.
Additionally, the Brexit would create an opportunity for a closer, reinvigorated alliance between the U.S. and U.K., boosting trade and investment between the two nations.
Once independent of the European super-state, the U.K. can create an independent free trade agreement with the U.S. If the U.K. votes “Leave,” Americans should applaud it for choosing to walk away from a failed European project.
Additionally, far from being a disaster for the continent, Brexit will be good for Europe. Alliances of free and sovereign nations are more powerful and capable of overcoming external threats than a melting pot of neutered nations caught in a bureaucratic quagmire.
I hope that when our British friends go to the polls tomorrow, they know that America has their back. I hope they will think about their unique traditions in life and liberty which so informed our own founding. And when pondering their choice, may they draw inspiration from the greatest author who ever called their island home:
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,-
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.
Richard II, Act 2, scene 1
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