EU complete me: The top reasons why Remainers don’t want to leave the European Union

It’s been a tense week following the rejection from Parliament of Theresa May’s plan to leave the EU after two years of negotiations.

The BBC reported that the Prime Minister was outvoted by 230 votes by MPs with 118 being from her own Conservative party.

A lot has been written about what a no-deal Brexit could mean. But what exactly are some of the top reasons 48% of UK citizens voted to remain in the EU?

1. The right to be able to work in the EU

This is one of the top priorities for UK workers who might have to commute to EU for work or who had plans to work in the EU in the future. The withdrawal agreement offered temporary guarantees for UK citizens living in the EU and vice-versa but as this was rejected, there is more anxiety about the possibility for a no-deal and what this will mean for Brits working abroad.

2. Worries for the NHS

General concerns about what Brexit would mean for the future of the NHS has ranged from the changes to the healthcare shared by the EU27 and UK and what this would mean for the EU doctors and nurses who have spent a long time in the UK working for our National Health Service. Chief Executive at the Nuffield Trust, Nigel Edwards has commented on the way Brexit could create further complications to the NHS making it the ‘last straw’.

3. The argument that we are stronger within the EU:

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Founder and managing director of PR communications agency, Victoria Moffat brought up the importance of identifying as being part of the EU.

She said: “We literally cannot get a better deal with the EU than we have already. I value the benefits of being an EU citizen.”

Many believe that the UK was more prosperous as part of the EU than alone and that we have a better influence on world affairs while in the EU. Even though those who voted Leave argue that the Second World War showed our strength as an independent country, Remainers argue that actually it was due to the help of the other EU nations as this user pointed out on Twitter: 

I’m thoroughly sick of Leavers using WW 2 nostalgia in the context of Brexit.
We never stood alone – our finest hour was achieved with the help of 15 other nationalities.

— Brian Moore (@brianmoore666) January 16, 2019

4. Deals with trade: 

In 2017 it was reported that 53% of our imports came into the UK from other countries in the EU, however Boris Johnson has previously stated that our trade with the EU has been ‘declining rapidly over the past 10 years.’ The importance of an agreement with trade is that the UK can continue to trade with the EU with services that provide for the UK economy such as agriculture and production industries.

5. Education:

There has been a lot of talk about what Brexit could mean for university students, from tuition fees to student visas for both EU and UK citizens. Top Universities has reported that while student aid will remain the same from the years 2018/2019, there is still an uncertainty as to whether this will still be the case during the years 2020/2021 during the final Brexit transition years. This also includes some of the changes that might happen to the current student visa system and there is also the worry that Brexit could affect students graduate job prospects.