Mac 60 wrote:A lot of arguments here for staying in the EU based on statistics and such but all i know is what i can see with my own eyes in my home town. Absolute urban decay. Most shops are boarded up, the only hospital gone, not enough houseing for the growing population, only one factory where there once was dozens, no hope for younsters finding work, small business going under every day. Most of the pubs gone. People depending on welfare handouts, and foodbanks ! CHRIST its not the 1940s. Now i know this isent all the falt of the EU but i havent seen a shred of evidence of any EU help. Iam fairly well travelled in western Europe and ive yet to come across a town there in such a state as here and some of those countrys are supposed to be bankrupt ?
A problem I see, being self employed, is the absence of infrastructure, bureaucracy and red tape in trying to establish businesses off the beaten track. For some reason every little place I go see in Europe has small local business that seem to thrive better than in this part of the world. You try to set up business over here and you are savaged by high rates, high fixed costs for utilities, high insurance costs, high labour taxes imposed on employers for paying wages, high employer insurance, high VAT, absence of good communications, a postal system beyond belief and often poor broadband. Why for example, can I get product from mainland Europe at low postal costs but from UK most places either refuse to post or won't because they say its too expensive? Or why, when I wanted something recently, was it bid to £450 in UK on eBay in an auction, but an identical product I was able to secure from Luxembourg on eBay auction, for €400 plus €15 postage. Only because UK buyers don't seem to bid outside the UK. And to cap it all it was made in Glasgow!
France has little cafes and coffee places in every little village, manage to provide toilets, etc and meet EU regulations on these things, but in this part of the world we say EU doesn't allow it. Maybe it's a question of interpretation but since we find these all over Europe maybe the issue is at home. I too look at so many places in summer in outlying villages that are crying out for some attractions but are missing because its not economic to provide them.
High fuel costs hugely disadvantage rural tourism, especially in outlying areas. A car tax system with a higher annual road tax and lower fuel cost that does not change the exchequer returns would have a big benefit to tourists and also domestic tourists. UK pays 99p for diesel, but pay 99 cent in Ireland, France and many other countries. At times that represents a 40% higher price. But that's not EU policy. High fuel costs are a big tax on isolation and distance in regions that are too sparsely populated to support good public transport. Factor in weather and it makes it extremely hard to compete.
We complain of VAT but it's up at 20% in most of Europe.
Ireland would have been doomed if it were not for tourism. Remote regions of the UK, especially Scotland and Northern Ireland and also Wales would also be similarly affected and offer some of the most beautiful places. The attraction is not sunshine and beaches but goes much deeper and is therefore less dependent on weather. These regions should also be attractive to those who offer internet based services, either electronically or by way of mail, they offer by far the best quality of life and living conditions. Any good writer or artist or composer goes to live where they feel inspired and it's not usually the middle of a city.
I don't see the EU helping these either and having spent some of my time in France last summer looking at how they work the villages are not subject to centralised control. A small village has the 'mairie' or mayor and decisions are made within the village, not the high street of a city 100 miles away by someone who probably doesn't even know where the village is. A bigger village has the 'hotel de ville' or town hall and again decisions are made locally. The municipal camp site is run locally but it spins off business to the small local shops, bakery, restaurant, pub, gift shop etc. You find a facilities building that has good toilets, showers etc and a friendliness that's hard to beat. For this to happen one must take back the local control, EU or no EU, other countries do it in the EU so why not us? Sure, our climate is not right for too much camping but anyone I know would happily support hostel type accommodation even in winter that offers a huge opportunity. A place not too far from me organises weekends in winter for mind and body and its a case of a local artist, hostel owner, food producers, restaurant and others getting together to make a very good and economical package where they all get a bite of the cherry. Of course, the internet is your market.
I don't for one moment think one can compete with the big cities, but I put it in perspective like this. You generally only go to see the Mona Lisa once in your lifetime but you can go to Antrim or Strangford Lough, Wales, Scotland or places like that year after year. In the city your 50 guests on their once in a lifetime trip arrive all together in a coach and stop for an allotted half hour, in rural places your 50 guests arrive one or two at a time and linger longer and most importantly are much more likely to return.
That's my tuppence worth.
