When the UK joined the European Community in 1973, and voted to remain a member in 1975, it was a simple free trade agreement between the member states. It was in our interests to have this sort of agreement. However, the nature of the EU has changed dramatically. It is now also a supranational law making institution whose directives overrule the law of individual member states. We did not sign up for this when we joined, and nor did any of the older member states. Therefore the EU should go back to how it was set up because that is what its members consented to join.

Free trade agreements between states make trading much easier because tariffs and other barriers to trade are lifted. However, increased EU regulations on things which affect businesses are detrimental to their trade as they create unnecessary bureaucracy and limitations on what businesses can do. So an organisation which was set up to help free trade has evolved into something which actually hampers trade. The EU has betrayed its founding principles, the principles which the original member states signed up to.

Individual governments have lost a lot of power as a result of the change in the EU’s nature. Because EU directives must be adopted into domestic law, individual governments have lost their legislative powers in all the areas on which the EU governs. Because national governments generally have a bigger mandate than MEPs, they have more right to be making decisions which affect their citizens’ lives.

UK (and before that English) Parliamentary convention has always been that no government could bind its successors

EU legislation overrules this

As the legislation, once passed, can only be changed or repealed outside of the UK Parliament, there is no way for a future government to, for example, make domestic fuel supplies VAT free

Free trade is beneficial to business, but so is a clear legal framework within which to operate and regulation which ensures safety and quality for all. Regulation means that businesses will always know that their raw materials are of high quality, and that their customers will trust their products. Thee legal clarity provided by the EU makes it easier for businesses to operate in foreign markets and expand their profitability. Freedom of movement creates a Europe wide labour market which gives businesses a greater pool of talent to find the person with the right skills for the job. Without a powerful EU businesses would be hampered and national economies would suffer as a result.

The European Court of Justice is the highest court in Europe to which EU citizens can appeal. This means that all EU citizens have the same avenue of legal appeal open to them. In this way the EU ensures that everyone is subject to the same jurisprudence and thus has the same legal rights.

The EU has become a vital advocate for human rights, both within its member states and globally. Internally, it requires all of its member states to sign up to the European Convention on Human Rights which means that individual governments are required to uphold the rights of their citizens. Externally it can use human rights as an entrance criterion for potential new members, using the promise of membership to incentivise them cleaning up their human rights records. If the EU was just a free trade area it would have neither the legal jurisdiction nor the moral authority to have made these changes for the better.