SUBU EU Referendum Student Guide 2016

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JUNE 23RD

INSIDE: What the EU Referendum is about Who can vote How to register to vote How to vote Unbiased information and facts on the EU debate

WHAT IS THE EU REFERENDUM ABOUT? There will be a referendum on the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union on Thursday 23rd June.

A referendum asks you, as a voting member of the population, to vote on a question about a single political issue to inform the Government on how to act.

For this referendum the question is: Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?

WHAT IS THE EU? The European Union is a unique economic and political union between 28 European countries.

The EU was created in the aftermath of the Second World War as a purely economic union to foster unity and prevent war. Since then it has evolved into a "single market" allowing goods and people to move around the member countries as if it were one country. As an organisation, the EU sets policy on a wide range of areas from climate, environment and health, to transport, security, justice and migration.

The EU is governed by the principle of representative democracy, with citizens directly represented at Union level in the European Parliament and Member States represented in the European Council and the Council of the EU.

CAN I VOTE IN THE EU REFERENDUM? You can vote in this referendum if you are registered to vote in the UK; are 18 or over on 23rd June 2016 and are: •

A British or Irish citizen living in the UK,

• A Commonwealth citizen living in the UK who has leave to remain in the UK or who does not require leave to remain in the UK* • A British citizen living overseas who has been registered to vote in the UK in the last 15 years, • An Irish citizen living overseas who was born in Northern Ireland and who has been registered to vote in Northern Ireland in the last 15 years.

*LIST OF COMMONWEALTH COUNTRIES •

Antigua and Barbuda

• Namibia

• Australia

• Nauru

•

•

The Bahamas

New Zealand

• Bangladesh

• Nigeria

• Barbados

• Pakistan

• Belize • Botswana • Brunei • Darussalam • Cameroon • Canada • Cyprus • Dominica •

Fiji Islands

• The Gambia • Ghana

• Papua •

New Guinea

• Rwanda •

St Kitts & Nevis

•

St Lucia

•

St Vincent & The Grenadines

• Samoa • Seychelles •

Sierra Leone

• Singapore

• Grenada

•

Solomon Islands

• Guyana

•

South Africa

• India

•

Sri Lanka

• Jamaica

• Swaziland

• Kenya

• Tonga

• Kiribati

•

• Lesotho

• Tuvalu

• Malawi

• Uganda

• Malaysia

•

United Kingdom

• Maldives

•

United Republic of Tanzania

• Malta

• Vanuatu

• Mauritius

• Zambia

• Mozambique

• Zimbabwe

Trinidad & Tobago

HOW DO I REGISTER TO VOTE? If you want to have your say at the EU referendum, you must be registered to vote by midnight on the 7th June. It only takes a couple of minutes and all you need is your National Insurance number to hand.

You can register to vote online anytime at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote If you live in Northern Ireland, you need to register to vote by downloading a registration form at www.eoni.org.uk If you’re not sure what your National Insurance number is, you can find it on your pay slip, P60, tax return or your student loan application. If you’ve lost your number, you can call the NI Helpline on 0300 200 3502 and they will post it to you after you’ve answered some questions.

You can register at your home and term-time address if you’re not sure where you’ll be on the 23rd June. You can also apply to vote by post or proxy (where someone else that you trust votes on your behalf).

HOW DO I CHECK IF I'M ALREADY REGISTERED TO VOTE? If you’ve received a poll card explaining where your polling station is then you’re registered to vote.If you are not sure whether you are registered to vote, you should contact your local electoral registration office. They will be able to let you know.

To find the contact details for your local electoral registration office, enter your postcode at www.aboutmyvote.co.uk

HOW DO I VOTE? Once you are registered to vote, there are three ways you can vote in the EU referendum.

1.

AT YOUR POLLING STATION IN PERSON

You will receive a poll card telling you where your polling station is. You don’t need your poll card to vote but you do need to go the polling station where you are registered.

If you’ve lost your poll card, you can find out where your polling station is by contacting your local electoral registration office, which you can find by entering your postcode at www.aboutmyvote.co.uk Polling stations will be open from 7am to 10pm on Thursday 23rd June 2016.

2. BY POST To apply to vote by post, you will need to complete a postal vote application form.

SUBU has a downloadable form at www.subu.org.uk/eureferendum Once you have completed and signed your application form, send it to your local electoral registration office to arrive by 5pm on 8th June 2016. To find the contact details for your local electoral registration office, enter your postcode at www. aboutmyvote.co.uk You will receive your ballot paper by post. This needs to arrive back at your local electoral registration office by 10pm on 23rd June 2016.

Please note that your local electoral registration office needs to have received your registration to vote before they can process your postal vote; so don’t leave registering until the 7th June if you wish to vote by post.

3. BY PROXY Voting by proxy means allowing somebody you trust to vote on your behalf.

To apply to vote by proxy, you will need to complete a proxy vote application form. SUBU has a downloadable form at www.subu.org.uk/eureferendum Once you have completed and signed your application form, send it to your local electoral registration office to arrive by 5pm on 15th June 2016. To find the contact details for your local electoral registration office, enter your postcode at www.aboutmyvote.co.uk When you apply for a proxy vote you will need to state why you cannot vote in person. Your proxy must be registered to vote and eligible to vote in the referendum. Your proxy will vote on your behalf so you will need to tell them how you want to vote. .

VOTING IN NORTHERN IRELAND? If you are going to vote in person at your polling station on 23rd June, don’t forget to bring a correct form of photo ID. Without it you won’t be able to vote.

To apply to vote by post or proxy, visit the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland website at www.eoni.org.uk to download the correct form.

HOW DO I FILL IN THE BALLOT PAPER? You will receive a ballot paper like the one pictured here. You vote by putting a cross (X) in one of the boxes, so you need to make a choice about whether you want the UK to either Remain or Leave the European Union.

MAKING YOUR CHOICE – UNBIASED & FACT-CHECKED INFORMATION To help you make your choice, the next pages present some fact-checked information from both sides of the EU debate.

There is no right or wrong way to vote, the decision is yours and yours alone so take some time to consider the facts and weigh up what you feel is most important. This guide only explains a few key areas that students said were important to them.

WHY VOTE? Voting in a referendum on EU membership is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. According to YouGov opinion polls from April 2016, the British public are fairly evenly split on whether to leave or remain. The outcome will come down to who votes on the 23rd June and as there is no minimum turnout needed, a simple majority of those who vote will have the final say.

A vote is your voice and those that vote will decide the future of the UK and everyone that lives here- so why would you want to miss out on having your say?

WHY DO PEOPLE WANT TO LEAVE? Those campaigning for the UK to leave the EU (BREXIT) say it is being held back by the EU, which they say imposes too many rules on business and charges billions of pounds a year in membership fees for little in return. They also want Britain to take back full control of its borders and reduce the number of people moving to the UK to work. One of the main principles of EU membership is “free movement”, which means you don’t need to get a visa to go and live in another EU country.

WHY DO PEOPLE WANT TO REMAIN? Those campaigning for the UK to stay in the EU, say it gets a big boost from membership - it makes selling things to other EU countries easier and, they argue, the flow of immigrants, most of whom are young and keen to work, fuels economic growth and helps pay for public services.

They also believe Britain’s status in the world would be damaged by leaving and that we are more secure as part of the 28 nation club, rather than going it alone.

WHO WANTS TO LEAVE? • The UK Independence Party, which won the last European elections, and received nearly four million votes - 13% of those cast - in May’s general election, wants the UK to leave.

• About half of Conservative MPs, including the outgoing Mayor of London- Boris Johnson and five cabinet ministers also wants the UK to leave.

• Several Labour MPs have supported the campaign to leave.

• The Democratic Unionist Party wants the UK to leave.

WHO WANTS TO REMAIN? • The National Union of Students is campaigning to remain in the EU, after a vote at the National Conference in 2015.

• Prime Minister David Cameron wants Britain to stay in the EU, after he negotiated some powers back from it. Sixteen members of the cabinet also back staying in.

• The Labour Party, the Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats are all in favour of staying in.

• Other EU nations such as France and Germany want us to remain.

• US president Barack Obama also wants Britain to remain in the EU.

HOW LONG WOULD IT TAKE FOR THE UK TO LEAVE THE EU? The minimum period after a vote to leave would be two years, but it may take longer depending on how the negotiations go on a withdrawal agreement and the terms of its relationship with the other 27 nations. During that time, the UK would continue to abide by EU treaties and laws, but not take part in any decision-making.

FACTS ON HIGHER EDUCATION • If the UK left the EU, the Government would not have to provide student loans or maintenance funding for EU students.

• If the UK left the EU, it may lose access to EU research funding and student mobility schemes.

• If the UK were to leave the EU, EU students would be classed in the same way as overseas students and therefore charged higher tuition fees.

FACTS ON EMPLOYMENT • An EU exit could indicate significant change to UK employment law, much of which flows from Europe. The Government would face pressure from employers’ associations to repeal or amend some of the more controversial EU-derived employment laws, such as the Working Time Regulations 1998 and Agency Worker Regulations 2010.

• Trade Unions would probably strongly oppose any perceived backward steps on employment rights.

• Withdrawal from the EU would allow for change to the following areas of employment law, which stem largely from Europe: annual leave, agency worker rights, part-time worker rights, fixed-term worker rights, collective redundancy, paternity, maternity and parental leave, protection of employment upon the transfer of a business and antidiscrimination legislation.

FACTS ON UK JOBS AND THE EU • Between 3.3 million and over 4 million UK jobs are linked with exports to EU countries. These are linked to EU trade rather than membership; however there’s still a possibility that leaving the EU could have an impact on the trading figures at some point.

• It’s very difficult, if not impossible to measure the amount of jobs that may be affected by the UK leaving the EU because whilst there may be an impact to trading figures, there also may be jobs created by a reshaped economy.

• The European Union has a single market, which allows the free movement of goods, services, money and people within the European Union, as if it was a single country. It is possible to set up a business or take a job anywhere within it.

The idea is to boost trade, create jobs and lower prices. However, mass migration from poorer to richer countries has raised questions about the free movement rule.

• If the UK were to leave the EU, the status of EU nationals who want to work in the UK would depend on whether the UK government decided to introduce a work permit system of the kind that currently applies to non-EU citizens, limiting entry to skilled workers in professions where there are shortages.

FACTS ON ECONOMY/FINANCE • The UK has one of the largest economies in the world. When people talk about the size of an economy, they are usually referring to GDP: the total value of goods and services produced in a country.

• The EU is the UK’s most important trading partner. In 2015 it accounted for 44% of UK goods and services exports (£223 billion) and 53% of UK imports (£291 billion). If the UK left the EU, trading deals would need to be renegotiated.

• The UK is one of 10 member states who pay more into the EU budget than they get out, only France and Germany contribute more.

• Regardless of whether the UK remains in the EU, the UK Government has said the UK will keep the pound and this forms part of the UK’s EU membership agreement.

FACTS ON NHS STAFF AND THE EU • According to the best available data, EU immigrants make up 5% of English NHS staff and a little less than 5% of the English population.

• Across the UK, EU immigrants make up 10% of registered doctors and 4% of registered nurses.

• Immigrants from outside the EU make up larger proportions.

• Restrictions on non-EU immigrants have affected NHS recruitment, suggesting that the same could happen if there were limits on EU immigration.

FACTS ON HEALTHCARE • EU citizens benefit from reciprocal access to healthcare through the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). If the UK left the EU but chose to remain in the EEA (The European Economic Area) it might be able to continue to participate in the EHIC scheme, or, subject to negotiation with EU Member States, participate on a similar basis to Switzerland.

FACTS ON EU JOBS AND UK CITIZENS • It’s hard to say if UK citizens would need special permits to work in the EU if the UK left the EU, as a lot would depend on the kind of deal the UK agreed with the EU after exit.

• If the UK remained within the single market, it would almost certainly retain free movement rights allowing UK citizens to work in the EU and vice versa.

• If the UK government opted to impose work permit restrictions, as UKIP wants, then other countries could reciprocate, meaning Britons would have to apply for visas to work.

FACTS ON CONTROLS AT THE UK BORDER • The British government retains full control over its own border controls. By this it means that travellers with EU passports and non-EU passports can’t cross the UK border without having their passport or identity checked.

• This isn’t the same as saying the UK can refuse entry to anyone from other EU countries, if they have valid documents. There are limited reasons the UK can justify refusing entry to EU citizens under EU law, such as public security.

• The right to free movement within the EU means that the UK can’t put the level of immigration from other EU countries.

limits on

• Citizens from outside the EU face different visa, or visa waiver, requirements depending on the purpose of the visit and its duration.

FACTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS • Human rights in the UK are protected in a few ways including by EU law and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights; The European Convention on Human Rights, and the UK’s Human Rights Act 1998.

• If the UK left the EU, it would still be signed up to the European Convention on Human Rights, which is an international treaty enforced by the Council of Europe—a group of 47 countries from Iceland to Russia. As a result, people who believe that the UK government or the UK’s laws are responsible for a breach of any of the rights listed in the convention can challenge them at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

• If the UK withdrew from the EU, it would no longer have to comply with the human rights obligations of EU Law including the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

WANT MORE INFO? • • • •

http://www.subu.org.uk/eureferendum www.fullfact.org/europe/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/eu_referendum http://www.parliament.uk/eu-referendum

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MAKUERE YOU VOTE ON 23RD JUNE.

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