Join the new world

Okay, so the EU referendum is tomorrow. The most important thing is that you vote for what you believe in, and the second most important thing is that you are informed. THe third most important thing was taking part in this competition, and we’ve now got the results. I wonder who won! But first, the answers.



According To The NIESR, By What Percentage Could Unemployment Rise In The Short Term If We Leave The EU?
Answer: 1.7%
The NIESR says in the short term unemployment could rise by up to 1.7% but predicting what happens in the long term is a lot harder and some economists say unemployment rates could become even lower. Note: Economists are stupid.

How Much Money Does The UK Send To The EU Each Week On Average?
Answer: £248 Million
£350 million is allocated to the EU each week but roughly £248 million is actually sent to the EU and we get about £80 million of that back. This is one of the least understood facts about the referendum, despite the numbers not being as complicated as some think.

Which Of The Following Worker's Rights Are Protected By The EU For UK Workers?
Answer: Maternity Leave
The EU does not protect minimum wage and many EU countries do not have a minimum wage. Workers are entitled to 20 days of paid holiday a year by the EU but this does not affect UK workers as UK laws mean they are entitled to 28 days a year - leaving the EU would not change this. Maternity Leave has been protected by the EU several times, who have enforced laws on the UK to stop discrimination against pregnant women and those taking maternity leave.

What Percentage Of UK Laws Are Made In The EU?
Answer: Nobody Knows!
Estimates of how many UK laws are made in the EU range from 13% to 62%, but it is impossible to give an exact figure as some laws are directly from the EU while others are just influenced by the EU and we may not necessarily be forced to make those laws.

Which Of The Following Non-EU Countries Must Still Follow EU Laws?
Answer: None Of These
Norway, Switzerland and Canada all follow different models for relations with the EU and do not have to accept EU laws. As part of agreements with the EU, Norway will accept many EU laws but it has a "right of reservation" to reject laws it does not like - it does not have to follow EU laws. Switzerland and Canada do not have to follow EU laws at all as they are not even recommended to the countries.

How Much Control Does The UK Currently Have Over Its Borders?
Answer: A Lot - We Can Refuse Entry For Some EU Citizens
The UK is not part of the Schengen Area (passport-free area) so we can still have some control over our borders. EU citizens have different rules for coming into the UK compared to non-EU citizens but we can still refuse people for certain reasons, such as them being a threat to UK citizens or for serious public health reasons. It is stated in EU law that they cannot be rejected just for having a criminal record - but ongoing threats like terrorism are legitimate reasons for rejection.

How Many Countries Could Join The EU In The Next 10 Years?
Answer: 0, 3, 5 or 7
After publishing the quiz I realised how badly worded the question was. Therefore, the answer could have actually been any of the options. Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Turkey are all candidate countries "on the road to EU membership" - so are expected to join at some point in the future - although Turkey has been trying to gain membership for a long time and you may have heard about how they probably won’t get in for many years. Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo are also potential candidates to join. None may join in the next 10 years but it is possible all 7 countries could - it is not easy to know. There may also be more countries looking to join in 10 years time.

In The Past 7 Years, How Many Times Has The UK Been On The "Losing Side" Of The Vote On EU Laws?
Answer: 12.3%
Since 2009 the UK has been on the losing side in 12.3% of votes, more than any other country. The next closest are Germany and Austria who have been on the losing side 5.4%. However, since 1999 the UK has only been on the losing side around 2% of the time.


And The Results!

Here are the results:



Well done to JiminyChristmas! You have won the grand prize of 2500cc.

The other interesting thing about this result is that if you ignore question 7 (which I gave everyone a point for), only a few people did better than you would expect someone to do if they guessed all of the questions. This suggests people don’t really know that much, and the referendum is so close now.



So that sums up the competition. Feel free to use the comments section to discuss how you don’t believe any of the answers, and to angrily express which way you will be voting tomorrow.

Thanks for reading,
CheetahCurtis,
Minister of Education