Welcome from Edward Dean, of the Rejoin EU party, Fareham and Waterlooville constituency

CRISIS ISSUES

COST OF LIVING CRISIS
This is the No.1 issue for many voters.
Rejoin EU supports anything to solve this. We support Citzens Advice Bureaus whose knowledge and expertise in this area is experience-based and extensive.

Rejoining the EU will help by bringing down imported food costs and recovering economies of scale that were lost when we left.

HOUSING AND ENERGY COSTS
Rents should be manageable. More social housing is needed. No fault evictions should be banned. Social tariffs may be needed for energy and utility costs. Rejoin EU will support any measure that helps.

SMALL BOATS
This started in about 2021, after we left the EU. To resolve it, we need to rejoin the EU and re-engage with the Dublin III regulation. We need to process people quicker, and have a practical, numbers-based, and human rights compliant immigration plan.

HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Rejoin EU totally supports the NHS, free at the point of delivery, and other healthcare providers. Care for the environment is very much related, both locally, nationally, and at continental and global scales.

SAFETY AND SECURITY
People need to feel safe and secure in their homes, workplaces, shopping and leisure facilities, services, holidays, and web. Rejoin EU supports all measures to maintain and improve this.

WAR AND PEACE
Wars are awful. They destroy lives, cultures, and infrastructure. Rejoin EU supports Ukraine in its fight for independence from Russia, and deplores the awful violence on both sides in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Local issues

Edward and the Rejoin EU party believe that rejoining the EU will assist the economy and finances of Fareham and Waterlooville constituents by helping to control food price increases, manage the cost of living crisis, making the country and the constituency safer, and creating new opportunities to find funding for the following and other endeavours:

Housing: Developments need to fit in with existing space and be accompanied by more services including health, education, emergency, and transport infrastructure.

Fighting crime needs to be tough but fair: crime has a social and familial dimensions as well as legal ones.

Regeneration. Waterlooville town centre needs cinema and leisure facilities especially for young people

National issues

Edward and the Rejoin EU party believe that rejoining the EU is the single most important step we can take to start the process of mending our people's and our country's spirit, pride, self-esteem, self-worth, health, safety, education, and secure wealth

We believe in a strong NHS and associated healthcare sector, good education, secure employment, fair pay and fair taxation, effective policing, social support and community care, responsible environmental and waste management, and non-discrimination.

We believe in honest, open, democratic, responsive, proactive, long-sighted and accountable politics

International issues

Edward and the Rejoin EU party believe that rejoining the EU is the single most important step that Britain can take to repair its international relations, trade, security, and standing.

We support international action to promote peace, self-reliance and self-determination, and universal human rights, and to clean our oceans, control waste, care for nature, and tackle climate change.

We believe that migration and free movement are natural human activities, and that a country's duty is to welcome and manage flows of bona fide asylum seekers and others in difficult circumstances.

We believe in a strong defence, a well funded military, with security cooperation and support for and by our allies in Europe, NATO, and elsewhere.

We support Ukraine in its fight for freedom from Russia and its desire to join the EU. We deplore the awful violence on both sides in the Israel-Hamas conflict and wider Middle-East.

Soundbites

Bad things got worse after Brexit. And some good things got bad. Nothing was gained, opportunities and freedoms were lost, and problems were created.

Rejoining the EU will help mitigate the cost of living crisis, and help local councils serve local people better. But it won't do everything. Other things need changing too. And a household costs index may be more useful for policymaking than a general consumer prices index.

National debt's ok if the interest payments are worth it for the thing or service you get early. But only if you can actually pay the principal and the interest later!

Immigration is only a problem if it's mismanaged.

No fault evictions are the fault of landlords, and of governments that don't work for the people.

Food banks exist, and are needed today.

Net zero is an opportunity that will become a necessity. Let's seize it and make our economy great again!

Let's try not to break international law. After all, we made most of it!

What are the EU treaties?

The main EU treaties are the Consolidated Versions of the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. They were developed by the member states, signed by their highest representative (in our case, King Charles if we rejoin), and ratified by their parliaments (in our case, a vote in Westminster).

How powerful is the Commission?

The Commission is the EU's civil service. It reports directly to the EU parliament.

The Commision develops legislation in accordance with the instructions given to it in the treaties and with the advice and guidance it gets from the parliamentary committees of MEPs, from national bodies, and from experts, specialists, and others including ordinary EU citizens.

See the EU's "Have your say" portal for citizen involvements.

What is an "exclusive EU competence"?

This is something that the member states' governments agree to do together, without having individual national legislation on the topic.

The areas of exclusive competence are (1) customs union (2) competition rules in the internal market (3) Eurozone monetary policy (4) marine conservation (5) common commercial policy and (6) international agreements.

These are all areas of policy and law where member states would not anyway be able to act separately. These things need to be developed and agreed by all member states together if they are to work at all.

What is a "shared competence"?

This is something that the member states' governments agree to do partly individually and partly in cooperation with the other member states.

The areas of shared competence are (a) internal market (b) social policy (c) economic, social, and territorial cohesion (d) agriculture and fisheries (e) environment (f) consumer protection (g) transport (h) trans-European networks (i) energy (j) freedom, security and justice (k) public health

Is the EU democratic?

Yes. But not to the extent of being able to override national sovereignty. Three democratic groups control the EU bureaucracy.

The European Council consists of heads of member states (eg.PM's) and sets the EU's political direction.

The Council of the EU consists of government ministers of member states. Each is authorized to exercise that member's sovereignty, by voting on its behalf.

The EU parliament consists of MEPs. Their job is to represent their constitutents' interests and to hold the entire EU to account.

The EU can only legislate in areas in which the member states have given it "competence". See FAQ's on exclusive and shared competence.

Legislation can only be passed if both the Council and the Parliament agree. So yes, the EU is democratic, and the EU parliament and the Council of the EU cannot override national sovereignties.

How do EU laws get made?

Somebody - almost anybody - makes a suggestion to the Commission. It could be the Commission itself, MEPs, ministers or civil servants or ambassadors or EU citizens individualy. A petition by a million EU citizens from a required number of member states is guaranteed to be heard.

The Commission checks that the topic is within an EU competence. If so, it sets in motion consultations and other processes needed. Consultations will typically go through one or more of the MEPs' parliamentary committees. During and after this, the Commission develops proposed legislation, trying to ensure that it will satisfy all members' governments.

Alert member states will know all this. Even so, the Commission ensures that the national parliaments of all member states are informed of proposals a minimum of 8 weeks before they are put to the vote in the EU.

The proposals are then put to the Council (ministers of member states) and in most cases to the Parliament (MEPs), who vote independently on the matter. Only if both these bodies agree can the proposal become law.

What does the ECJ do?

The ECJ (Court of Justice of the EU) settles arguments that can arise between citizens and the union or its various parts, or between members or members and the union, or between different parts of the EU bureacracy.

Like in the UK, the ECJ has built up "case law" over the years. This is part of the "acquis". Settled cases can be found on the ECJ's website. The types of arguments the ECJ settles are those which arise from differing interpretations of the treaties, or of EU case law.

The ECJ's power comes, not from the ECJ itself, but from the treaties that the member states' governments signed up to.

Will we have to join the Euro?

No. The conditions for rejoining the EU are the Copenhagen criteria. Only 20 of the 27 current member states use the euro as their sole legal tender. The 20 might prefer us to join, but it would be up to us, not them.

Music

These are some of the songs I like
(no suggestion that the musicians support me)
Sahara Moon - Harvest Moon
Joe Cocker - I come in Peace
Suzanne Vega - Luka
Chris Rea - Road to Hell

About Edward Dean

Edward is a sprightly 71-year old civil engineer who is now standing as a candidate in beautiful Hampshire constituency of Fareham and Waterlooville.

Edward was born in Essex and brought up in Euston, Harlow, Woodford, and Sedbergh. He studied engineering at Cambridge and worked in the offshore energy industry and in research. Later, he taught engineering at the University of the West Indies before moving to look after a family house in Spain.

Edward looks forward to moving to the constituency if elected to be Fareham and Waterlooville's new MP.

Welcome from Edward Dean, of the Rejoin EU party, Fareham and Waterlooville constituency

A vote for me is a vote for a much better future including a politics that is more honest, open, responsive, accountable, democratic, respectful and unifying

F.A.Q

What are the EU treaties?

How powerful is the Commission?

What is an "exclusive EU competence"?

What is a "shared competence"?

Is the EU democratic?

How do EU laws get made?

What does the ECJ do?

Will we have to join the Euro?

Links

The European Union

Local services

The Rejoin EU party

Music