{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"Sgwrs Tei Bow","provider_url":"http:\/\/52.19.228.105\/cy","author_name":"Clarke Roberts","author_url":"http:\/\/52.19.228.105\/cy\/author\/clarke-roberts\/","title":"I'm a Liberal, and I'm Ambivalent towards Europe. | Bow Tie Talks","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"nU0UNuyLcR\"><a href=\"http:\/\/52.19.228.105\/cy\/2015\/09\/13\/im-a-liberal-and-im-ambivalent-towards-europe\/\">I&#8217;m a Liberal, and I&#8217;m Ambivalent towards Europe.<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"http:\/\/52.19.228.105\/cy\/2015\/09\/13\/im-a-liberal-and-im-ambivalent-towards-europe\/embed\/#?secret=nU0UNuyLcR\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;I&#8217;m a Liberal, and I&#8217;m Ambivalent towards Europe.&#8221; &#8212; Bow Tie Talks\" data-secret=\"nU0UNuyLcR\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=http:\/\/52.19.228.105\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>","description":"A controversial statement from a Liberal Democrat I admit, but the past few days has had me reflected on my attitude towards the European Union and the way I will vote in the upcoming referendum in 2016\/2017. At the moment, I plan to abstain from the vote. Why, you ask? Firstly because I know little about the benefits of staying in the EU and even less about the consequences of leaving, but most importantly because there are aspects about the EU I like, and there are aspects of it that I dislike. I love the idea of free movement of people. I think it&#8217;s fantastic that we have open borders to those who come to our country (and others) seeking to improve their life. I will never buy into Farage&#8217;s fear-mongering statements about health and benefit tourism or immigrants suppressing British wages; I just don&#8217;t believe it&#8217;s true. We need to offer people who come here seeking to better their lives a fair chance of doing so; as long as they are prepared to work and pay into our system then they should be welcomed with open arms. I am proud of Britain&#8217;s multi-culturalism. I am not outraged when I hear the small group of Polish children playing outside my flat in Selby, I am proud of the fact that their families chose our great nation to come to settle and make a better life for themselves. I have worked with a large number of EU migrants, all of whom worked hard and contributed positively to British society. Europe is a land of pluralism and it should be embraced. The twentieth century saw two world wars which pitted Europe against each other; our grandparents and great grandparents fought to eliminate the hostilities between the powers of Europe, to undo that would be an enormous shame. Then of course there is the free market agreement of the European Union. For those of you who know me well, I&#8217;m no economist and so I won&#8217;t endeavour to embarrass myself by attempting to explain why this is a good thing. It&#8217;s something to do with taxes and imports\/exports &#8211; but that really is the extent to my knowledge on the economics of Europe. But hey! When I&#8217;m Prime Minister, I&#8217;ll have a Chancellor to make the decisions about money, that&#8217;s what he\/she is there for, right? Up until recently, I understood very little about local government. I admit my knowledge is still certainly patchy but what I have learned from the brilliant ALDC (Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors) Kickstart training event, is that the Lib Dem focus is very much on the importance of local authorities making decisions that affect local people. The Lib Dem fight back &#8211; as it&#8217;s come to be known &#8211; really does start with winning council seats and making a difference at a local level. Thanks to Edward Davey&#8217;s chapter in The Orange Book, I have recently come to understand that the decentralisation of government from Whitehall to [&hellip;]"}