Just to clarify, before I start this post I’m in no way saying I’m an expert on politics because I have absolutely no idea. However, recently after speaking to my mum about all this EU referendum business, I realised I genuinely had no idea what I’m voting and why I’m voting that way. So I thought, if I’m going to be voting for something that will ultimately change my future I need to at least know a little bit about it and how it will affect me.I’m also in no way trying to tell people what to vote, that decision is yours, I’m just writing about what I’ve found whilst looking up this whole debate.
To start with I headed to good old Google to find out a bit about the European Union. I know a few basics, but I thought this was a good place to start. The European Union (or EU) is a political and economic partnership between 28 European countries including us (Britain) that allows us to move ourselves and goods between the member countries as if we’re all one big country. The EU sets out rules on things like transport, consumer rights and the environment amongst a tonne of other things. Without going into a load of history (which I did read but I don’t want to be here forever typing, I go back to college on Tuesday) it’s a group of countries working as one big country to make decisions. We pay a membership fee to be a part of the EU, as do other countries, and in turn we get money back and are governed by EU laws.
So why are we having this “referendum”? Basically, when David Cameron (we’ll call him the big DC for short, ooo catchy) was running for Prime Minister he promised that if he was elected he would hold a vote on Britain’s involvement in the EU. So here we are, DC is PM and we’re having a vote. A referendum is just that, a vote. It’s where the Government ask members of the public to vote to accept or reject a proposition, which in this case is Britain being part of the EU . If you’ve seen the word “Brexit”, which personally I think sounds like some kind of new breakfast biscuit, that’s what people are calling the debate.
Most importantly, what are the arguments for and against Britain stay as part of the EU? When I was doing my research, I had a look at both sides from different people’s viewpoints, from a business view, from a family view, (there’s a tonne of articles on that, I’m not gonna go into it all) but personally I wanted to know how it would affect me, so I decided to look into what affect a “Brexit” would have on the performing and creative arts industry. I heard on the radio a few weeks ago about a letter that a lot of famous people from the industry have signed to say they’re voting to stay, but I wanted to know why, so here are a few things I’ve found:
- Firstly, there’s the issue of funding and money. Through the EU, we receive money to put towards the creative arts industry in different ways; be it through scholarships, money for projects or other different things. The EU is Britain’s 2nd biggest export market for music (which essentially means we make a lot of money selling music in the EU countries). I found out about something called the Creative Europe programme which supports culture and creativity in the EU with a budget of 1.46 billion Euros (I’m not sure what that is in £s but its’s a lot) and is used to implement training, pay for film festivals and project development etc. The CE programme has spent over £39 million so far on promoting British films to the rest of Europe including films like Slumdog Millionaire, The Iron Lady and The King’s Speech.Without this funding and promotion via CE would these films have been so successful? If we leave Europe, we may lose this funding which is essential for British creativity within the arts.
- We as part of the EU currently have access to a £93 million Cultural + Creative Sectors Guarantee Facility that’s launching that will help creative businesses by offering grants and loans and aid development in these areas
- In addition there’s the simple issue of movement of talent. From a general student perspective, being part of the EU we have access to foreign exchange programmes and academic mobility which is encouraged and I personally think that’s fabulous. In my opinion, travelling is so important. If we leave the EU airfares may rise, the European Health Insurance Card may not be as useful as it is now and you may even need a visa to work in the EU (which isn’t required now). I have several friends at college who have come from overseas to study here in London and it would be a shame if others didn’t have as good access to this opportunity in the future. This would lower the amount of people studying abroad due to extra hassles, and this also moves me into talking about this from a performing arts viewpoint. When I graduate from college I know that (if I was lucky enough) I’d love to work in a different country. I know of people in shows in Germany, Holland etc. Working in the performing arts industry in foreign countries could be affected if we did leave the EU, and thinking of my own future, I know I’d be really disappointed. This also leads me into my next point involving EU staff. At my college I can think of several teachers who are from European countries, and they’re brilliant. If we leave, would there be less international teachers as it’d more effort to get into teaching here?
- Back to the letter I was talking about before, celebrities including Keira Knightley, Benedict Cumberbatch, Matthew Bourne and Vivienne Westwood are among the 282 who have signed to say they want to stay in the EU due to the impact leaving would have on the industry. You can see the full list of names here
Ultimately, does it even matter? There will be changes either way. If we stay, DC made a claim that he would make a deal with other leaders to let Britain have a “special status” where we’ll be able to have more of a say on the things we don’t agree with, BUT it’s said that this might not even make a difference and isn’t what the PM promised. And if we exit? There will still be deals that need to be made with Europe. Either way we’re going to see changes.
So the choice is yours! As a British citizen I think that it’s important at this time to know about what the EU means for us as a country and after having a bit of a Google I do feel like I’m much more informed now to make a decision. I know when I vote, I’ll be thinking of my own future and the future of an industry I’m really passionate about.
Thank you for reading, I hope this has given at least a tiny bit of info to people about how this “Brexit” may affect our creative industry and wasn’t too boring. And finally, the answer to the question on everybody’s lips is No. We will not be barred from Eurovision if we end up leaving the EU.
Useful Links (aka articles that aren’t full of political words I wouldn’t understand)
BBC – The UK’s EU Referendum: all you need to know
The Complete University Guide – how the EU affects universities
Arts Professional – how a Brexit would affect the arts
Losing it in a Leotard 