UK-EU Referendum: The UK's Way Forward-Don't Waste The Opportunity on June 23rd 2016 (originally published on Linked-in on the 25 May 2016)

UK voters have an historic opportunity to re-position the UK in to a more sustainable, better run country or, alternatively, continue in the fundamentally flawed, dysfunctional European Union.

We should not waste this opportunity.

For all voters, give some thought on the issues below, before deciding.

1. What DIRECT benefits do I get from being in the EU & how significant are these?
2. What INDIRECT benefits might I be getting from being in the EU and are these real?
3. What Direct or Indirect impacts of EU membership affect me?
4. Do I want to live in the UK with a population of 70 Million, or greater?
5. Where are all the incoming EU (and other) immigrants going to live, school their children, register with a GP, drive / park their cars and get fixed up after an accident or illness?
6. Would I prefer to have an immigration and asylum policy that works for the UK or continue sharing the EU’s "policy"? Remember in 2015 Germany unilaterally invited millions of asylum seekers / economic migrants in. These very unfortunate people will probably gain access to the UK.
7. Is the UK’s forecast GDP growth, strength of the Pound and business confidence sufficient justification to remain in the EU?
8. Is the Remain campaigns prediction of the collapse of the economy, should BREXIT occur, realistic?
9. If the Remain vote wins, we know what will follow; increased population, over-stretched NHS, GPs, schools, ever increasing house prices and clogged roads; but at least businesses & the economy will be fine, if you believe the forecasts.
10. If the Leave vote wins we are told the country will fall over the cliff; however, this is unlikely. Here’s a strategy in the event of a Leave vote:
11. The UK informs the EU it intends to continue business with EU countries as if it were part of the club & that it encourages (expects) EU countries to do the same. This would be a huge boost to the UK’s & EU’s economies and would take less than an hour to communicate.
12. EU Trade Agreements with non-EU countries will be adopted by the UK with those same non-EU countries; so, business as usual. This would also be a huge confidence boost to the economy & the EU.
13. All EU nationals working in the UK as of the 23rd June 2016 will get an open-ended work permit to continue living & working in the UK; however, they will not automatically get the option to become British Nationals. Likewise the UK expects all British Nationals, resident in EU countries, to be treated in the same manner.
14. A UK immigration policy is put in-place along the lines of the Australian scheme where staff places can be filled via immigration only after demonstrating no British Nationals are available to fill the positions. Companies bringing in overseas staff are directly responsible for their accommodation, schooling & medical costs. Such imported staff have to leave the country when their employment ends. These “economic migrants” do not automatically get the option to become British Nationals.
15. A new UK asylum policy is enacted whereby valid asylum seekers get a temporary renewable work permit plus benefits for a fixed period; however, they do not automatically get the option of British Nationality. Asylum seekers are expected to return to their home country once safe to do so. The UK will assist in re-patriation. Potential asylum seekers without hard evidence of their country of residence will not qualify for these conditions or benefits and should get held in secure basic facilities until either deported or confirmed as valid asylum candidates. Valid asylum seekers can only apply for immediate family members (siblings under 18 & parents), not the older generation, Aunts, Uncles etc.

Would you prefer the Remain scenario, or the proposed Leave scenario, described above?

Any forecast from Remain or Leave, which describes something that could happen, is meaningless unless substantiated by hard evidence. So you can safely discard 99% of the two group's predictions.

Neither camp has said what will be done in the event of a Leave Vote, which is a significant omission. Voters need to be actively spelling out what we want the United Kingdom to be in the near future.

So, we can actively work for a much better United Kingdom, get our own politicians working for us using our own principles, by voting to Leave the EU. The necessary changes aren't likely to happen if you vote to Remain in the EU.

I highly recommend Voters don't waste this hugely significant opportunity to improve the UK's prospects.