To be or not to be…

…an EU member state.

That is the question…

Why be part of a club of people eating croissants for breakfast, driving on the right…

that's the …wrong… side of the road and drinking that black beverage?

(yuk, coffee)

It's all about love… actually

Because EU consumers LOVE British products. That's 500 million consumers!

If UK exports to the EU went down by 10%

the UK would need to increase exports to the Commonwealth by

… have a guess Sherlock… 40%! to make up for the loss.

Britain sells more to Ireland than to Brazil, Russia, India and China combined.

But other Europeans not only value UK tea, cars, ale, cucumber sandwiches or that delicious steak and kidney pie [puaggghh] ,

they value UK education too.

Every year 125,000 Harry Potters … excuse me… students from all over Europe attend UK Universities.

Well, yes, they don't all look like Downton Abbey.

That means that the British education system is creating the next generation of European professionals.

Leaders from 12 EU member States received part of their education from UK universities.

That's like the Great British Bake off of leaders… which is by the way supported by EU research funding,

But talent moves in both directions.

190,000 UK students have taken advantage of the EU’s ERASMUS scheme to study abroad.

Only study ? Well, that's another story…

Being part of the same club, they can move safely and freely all over the European Union.

That's why there are just as many Europeans living in the UK (hey toro) as there are British citizens living in Europe.

And there are as many Brits in Portugal and Spain (yes, it's tacky, I know, but we loooove Benidorm…) as there are Poles in Britain. Olé!

We are all different but equal. (and yes, we all love to hate the Eurovision song contest.)

What about jobs? Over 3 million UK jobs are linked to the EU – that's one in every ten UK jobs!

And although the UK stuck to the pound, London is the largest centre for trading in euros in the world.

Europe trusts the UK with their money!

The City of London is the bridge between the European and the global financial market.

The UK is such a crucial part of Europe that 40% of total Foreign Direct Investment into Britain derives from other EU states.

These are companies producing products, money and jobs on UK soil!

The UK is one of Europe's biggest states and routinely punches above its weight.

Because of the UK, the single market remains at the heart of the EU.

And hey, the British know a thing or two about innovation.

After all the UK invented the laptop, the SMS, graphene, (what's graphene?) and pop!

Ahhhhh Britpop… It actually started in a cellar in Hamburg.

Then there's security.

Does one really want to trust it to 007?

In a world of such complex and global threats isn't it great to have Europol if ever there were a need for back-up?

The UK's history, clout and involvement transformed the continent into the Union it is today.

And that works the other way around too: The UK gains power from being a strong leader in Europe.

Because together we are stronger. Superman ? He's not from here!

Because the Brits invented football for Christ sakes and every other decent sport and game worth playing.

Oooops… sorry, that too.

Cheers, luv!

You see? It's all about love… actually