For the A2s - Europe:

Now that we have an elected Conservative government many different things will be crossing your radar between now and the Unit 4 exam; obviously you will need to keep an eye on developments, but I will try and put the most significant things on here, in a condensed format. With that in mind, on R4 this morning, two different approaches to the EU question:


First, Cameron has promised a referendum on the EU, but no date is set. There will, therefore, be lots of talk about this from all angles, but the key thing for you is to question what reforms he will seek BEFORE the referendum takes place. This morning the first person interviewed about this was a Conservative MP from Essex, a mild Eurosceptic who said he is not set to vote No to the EU unless certain things don't change. These are:

• A shift from a political focus to a trading focus in our relationship;
• A reduction in the rules and regulations imposed by the EU - in his constituency there is a large number of small businesses that have to comply with EU rules (at great cost) but that only supply domestic markets.

On the other hand, John Cridland (head of the CBI) was then asked his (i.e the business world) view on Europe, and he was a firm "in", but again with change. When asked if immigration is the issue, he was very strongly pro-immigration (skills gap particularly), and suggested making it an issue in the referendum would be very damaging for business.


There is obviously so much more that you can question; just be aware of these issues, and be prepared to identify them, then evaluate them.