Friday, March 29Royal Holloway's offical student publication, est. 1986

An open letter in support of remaining in the EU

Dear Students,

On 23 June, voters will decide in a referendum whether or not the UK continues to be a member of the European Union. The result will affect all our futures. We represent a number of academic disciplines, as well as a range of political persuasions. We strongly encourage everyone who is eligible to register and to vote, whatever their position in the debate. At the same time, it is our sincere view that Britain should remain in the EU. In this letter, we outline our reasons for supporting continued membership.

First, the economy. Britain is presently part of the world’s largest single market: nearly 50% of British trade is with the rest of the EU, and it is estimated that over three million jobs in this country are connected to membership. But the EU is far more than a free-trade area.  Membership gives UK citizens the right to live, study and work in 27 other European countries. It guarantees progress towards equal pay for men and women. It provides us with common environmental and food-safety standards, security of food supply, consumer protection and a floor of basic employment rights. The EU also provides significant resources for scientific research that benefit British universities.

Second, politics.  The EU is a force for progressive values. It champions our civil and political rights, and has outlawed discrimination based on gender, race, sexuality or disability. Although it has its shortcomings, the EU is subject to more democratic accountability than any other international organisation. Crucially, membership allows us to influence EU laws.  It also allows us to play a role in reforming the EU’s institutions and procedures. Were Britain to leave the EU, it might be allowed to stay in the single market, but it would no longer have a say on deciding its rules or shaping its future.

Third, people. The right of free movement for EU citizens hugely benefits the UK. It boosts our economy and enriches us culturally. Universities in particular benefit from the rights of students and world-class researchers and teachers to move freely. Moreover, many hundreds of thousands of British people live, study and work in other EU countries. We will all be poorer if we lose this right.

Fourth, regional peace and stability. The EU has helped to keep the peace in Western Europe since its foundation. Before 1945, Europe was regularly devastated by conflict and war. Economic interdependence now makes war unthinkable between member states. The EU has also promoted the consolidation and spread of liberal democracy, in post-war Germany and Italy, in post-authoritarian Spain, Portugal and Greece, and most recently in post-communist Central and Eastern Europe. For these reasons, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012.

In short, the economic, political, cultural and strategic benefits of remaining in the EU are enormous. Membership underpins peace and prosperity in our part of the world and vastly improves our lives. To us the choice is clear, which is why we are supporting remaining in the EU.

Yours,

  1. Dr Nicholas Allen, Reader in Politics
  2. Dr Joana Almeida, Teaching Fellow in Sociology
  3. Professor Richard Alston, Professor of Roman History
  4. Dr Stephanos Anastasiadis, Lecturer in Sustainability
  5. Professor Dan Anderberg, Professor of Economics
  6. Dr Michael Bacon, Senior Lecturer in Political Theory
  7. Dr Jesper Bagger, Senior Lecturer in Economics
  8. Professor Rachel Beckles Willson, Professor of Music
  9. Dr Daniel Beer, Senior Lecturer in Modern European History
  10. Dr Giacomo Benedetto, Senior Lecturer in Politics
  11. Professor James Bennett, Professor of Media Arts
  12. Professor Daniela Berghahn, Professor of Film Studies
  13. Dr Mark Berry, Senior Lecturer in Music
  14. Professor Derek Blundell, Emeritus Professor of Geophysics
  15. Professor Laszlo Bogre, Professor in Plant Cell and Molecular Biology
  16. Dr Veronique Boisvert, Reader in Physics
  17. Dr Jens Bolte, Reader in Applied Mathematics
  18. Dr Victoria Bourne, Senior Lecturer in Psychology
  19. Professor Andrew Bowie, Professor of Philosophy and German
  20. Dr Donna Brown, Senior Lecturer in Employment Relations and Managerial Economics
  21. Professor Mark Brown, Professor in Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation
  22. Professor Ian Candy, Professor of Geography
  23. Dr Benedetta Cappellini, Senior Lecturer in Marketing
  24. Dr Daniel Carey, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Psychology
  25. Dr Elisa Carrus, Postdoctoral Teaching Associate in Psychology
  26. Dr Christie Carson, Reader in Shakespeare and Performance
  27. Dr Lorenzo Cavallaro, Reader in Information Security
  28. Professor Sandra Cavallo, Professor of Early Modern History
  29. Professor Andrew Chadwick, Professor of Political Science
  30. Professor Justin Champion, Professor of the History of Early Modern Ideas
  31. Dr Andreas Chatzidakis, Senior Lecturer in Marketing
  32. Dr Philip Chen, Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences
  33. Professor Arnaud Chevalier, Professor of Economics
  34. Professor Carlos Cid, Professor of Information Security
  35. Professor Neil Conway, Professor of Organisational Behaviour
  36. Dr Ruth Cruickshank, Senior Lecturer in French
  37. Professor Polly Dalton, Professor of Psychology
  38. Dr Antara Datta, Lecturer in International Relations
  39. Mr Rhys Davies, Senior Lecturer in Media Arts
  40. Dr Fabrizio DeDonno, Lecturer in Italian
  41. Professor Veronica della Dora, Professor of Human Geography
  42. Professor Rainer Dietmann, Professor of Mathematics
  43. Dr Mike Dolton, Senior Lecturer in Geography
  44. Mr Mike Dormer, Senior Lecturer Media Arts
  45. Dr Szonya Durant, Senior Lecturer in Psychology
  46. Professor Gavin Drewry, Emeritus Professor of Public Administration
  47. Dr Tom Dyson, Senior Lecturer in International Relations
  48. Professor Robert Eaglestone, Professor of Contemporary Literature and Thought
  49. Professor John Ellis, Professor of Media Arts
  50. Professor Matthias Eschrig, Professor of Physics
  51. Professor Francesco Feri, Professor of Economics
  52. Professor José Fiadeiro, Professor of Computer Science
  53. Dr Robert Fitzgerald, Reader in Business History and International Management
  54. Dr Pierre-Olivier Fortin, Lecturer in Economics
  55. Professor Manolis Galenianos, Professor of Economics
  56. Dr Julia Gallagher, Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations
  57. Mr Adam Ganz, Reader in Media Arts
  58. Professor Helen Gilbert, Professor of Theatre
  59. Dr Liz Gloyn, Lecturer in Classics
  60. Professor Michael Gold, Professor of Comparative Employment Relations
  61. Dr Maris Goldmanis, Senior Lecturer in Economics
  62. Ms Gillian Gordon, Senior Lecturer in Media Arts
  63. Professor Helen Graham, Professor of Modern Spanish History
  64. Professor Christopher Grey, Professor of Organisation Studies
  65. Professor Sandra Halperin, Professor of International Relations
  66. Professor Daniel Hamermesh, Professor of Economics
  67. Professor Ruth Harvey, Professor of Medieval Occitan Literature
  68. Dr Harriet Hawkins, Reader in Geography
  69. Mr Chris Howorth, Senior Lecturer in Organisational Strategy
  70. Dr Rob Hughes, Senior Lecturer in Psychology
  71. Dr Grégoire Ithier, Lecturer in Physics
  72. Dr Alana James, Lecturer in Psychology
  73. Professor Vincent Jansen, Professor of Mathematical Biology
  74. Dr Emily Jeremiah, Senior Lecturer in German and Gender Studies
  75. Dr Stefano Jossa, Reader in Italian
  76. Dr Nikolas Kauer, Senior Lecturer in Physics
  77. Dr Innes M. Keighren, Reader in Historical Geography
  78. Dr Johannes Kinder, Senior Lecturer in Computer Science
  79. Dr Christos Kremmydas, Senior Lecturer in Greek History
  80. Dr Endrit Kromidha, Lecturer in Entrepreneurship and Innovation
  81. Professor Barry Langford, Professor of Film Studies
  82. Dr Jonas Larsson, Senior Lecturer in Psychology
  83. Dr Elli Leadbeater, Reader in Molecular Ecology
  84. Dr Bryce Lease, Senior Lecturer in Drama and Theatre
  85. Professor Gerhard Leubner, Professor of Plant Biochemistry
  86. Dr Ruth Livesey, Reader in Nineteenth-Century Literature and Thought
  87. Dr Enrique López-Juez, Senior lecturer in Plant Development
  88. Dr Melanie Lührmann, Senior Lecturer in Economics
  89. Dr Olga Luzón, Lecturer in Clinical Psychology
  90. Dr Carolyn McGettigan, Reader in Psychology
  91. Dr Edward Madigan, Lecturer in Public History
  92. Dr Andrea Mammone, Lecturer in Modern European History
  93. Professor Keith Martin, Professor of Information Security
  94. Dr Arantza Mayo, Lecturer in Hispanic Studies
  95. Professor Mandy Merck, Professor of Media Arts
  96. Dr Alice Milner, Lecturer in Geography
  97. Dr Alister Miskimmon, Reader in European Politics and International Relations
  98. Professor Jay Mistry, Professor of Environmental Geography
  99. Professor Fiona Moore, Professor of Business Anthropology
  100. Professor Anna Morcom, Professor of Ethnomusicology
  101. Dr David Morritt, Reader in Aquatic Ecology
  102. Mr Rudolf Muhs, Senior Lecturer in European History
  103. Professor Wolfgang Müller, Professor of Isotope Geochemistry
  104. Dr Philip Neary, Lecturer in Economics
  105. Dr Lara Nettelfield, Senior Lecturer in International Relations
  106. Professor Helen Nicholson, Professor of Theatre and Performance
  107. Professor Brita Nucinkis, Professor of Mathematics
  108. Professor Ben O’Loughlin, Professor of International Relations
  109. Mr Justin O’Brien, Senior Lecturer in Strategy and Marketing
  110. Dr Gül Berna Özcan, Reader in International Business and Entrepreneurship
  111. Dr Adrian Palmer, Research Officer in Physical Geography
  112. Dr Alexis Papazoglou, Lecturer in Philosophy
  113. Professor Kenny Paterson, Professor of Information Security
  114. Professor Giuliana Pieri, Professor of Italian
  115. Dr Steve Portugal, Senior Lecturer in Animal Behaviour and Physiology
  116. Dr Anna Posazhennikova, Lecturer in Physics
  117. Dr Geraint Price, Senior Lecturer in Information Security
  118. Dr Robert Priest, Lecturer in French History
  119. Professor Kathy Rastle, Professor of Cognitive Psychology
  120. Professor Chris Rees, Professor of Employment Relations
  121. Dr Jessie Ricketts, Senior Lecturer in Psychology
  122. Dr Rüdiger Riesch, Lecturer in Evolutionary Biology
  123. Dr Leonardo Rinaldi, Senior Lecturer in Accounting
  124. Dr Rebecca Roache, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy
  125. Professor Eric Robertson, Professor of Modern French Literary and Visual Culture
  126. Dr Juan Pablo Rud, Senior Lecturer in Economics
  127. Professor Chris Rumford, Professor of Political Sociology and Global Politics
  128. Professor Alessio Sancetta, Professor of Economics
  129. Professor Rüdiger Schack, Professor of Mathematics
  130. Dr Catherine Sebastian, Senior Lecturer in Psychology
  131. Dr Jonathan Seglow, Reader in Political Theory
  132. Dr Hugh Shanahan, Senior Lecturer in Computer Science
  133. Professor Anne Sheppard, Professor of Ancient Philosophy
  134. Dr Will Shüler, Teaching Fellow in Drama and Theatre
  135. Professor David Simon, Professor of Development Geography
  136. Dr James Sloam, Reader in Politics and International Relations
  137. Dr Kaat Smets, Senior Lecturer in Politics (Quantitative Methods)
  138. Professor Chris Smith, Professor of Organisation Studies and Comparative Management
  139. Dr Giovanni Sordi, Lecturer in Physics
  140. Professor Mike Spagat, Professor of Economics
  141. Professor Laura Spence, Professor of Business Ethics
  142. Dr Efrossini Spentzou, Reader in Latin
  143. Dr Tim Stevens, Teaching Fellow in International Relations
  144. Professor Gillian Symon, Professor of Organisation Studies
  145. Dr Shzr Ee Tan, Senior Lecturer in Music
  146. Dr Hannah Thompson, Reader in French
  147. Dr Varyl Thorndycraft, Senior Lecturer in Geography
  148. Dr Ashley Thorpe, Senior Lecturer in Theatre
  149. Dr Allan Tomlinson, Senior Lecturer in Information Security
  150. Dr Ija Trapeznikova, Senior Lecturer in Economics
  151. Professor Manos Tsakiris, Professor of Psychology
  152. Dr Cristian Vaccari, Reader in Politics
  153. Dr Sigrun Wagner, Senior Lecturer in International Business and Sustainability
  154. Mr Nik Wakefield, Teaching Fellow in Drama and Theatre
  155. Professor John Wann, Professor of Psychology
  156. Dr Dawn Watling, Senior Lecturer in Psychology
  157. Dr Anna Whitelock, Reader in Early Modern History
  158. Professor Nathan Widder, Professor of Political Theory
  159. Dr Martin Widmer, Reader in Pure Mathematics
  160. Professor David Williams, Professor of Performance Practices
  161. Professor Katie Willis, Professor of Human Geography
  162. Dr Karl-Andrew Woltin, Teaching Fellow in Psychology
  163. Dr Agnes Woolley, Lecturer in Contemporary Literature
  164. Dr Rafael J. Yáñez-Muñoz, Reader in Advanced Therapy
  165. Dr David Yuratich, Lecturer in Law
  166. Professor Johannes M. Zanker, Professor of Neuroscience
  167. Dr Jinghan Zeng, Lecturer in International Relations
  168. Dr Anica Zeyen, Lecturer in Strategy and Sustainability
  169. Professor Elizabeth Schafer, Professor of Drama and Theatre Studies
  170. Dr Daniel Le Heron, Reader in Earth Sciences
  171. Dr Jürgen Adam, Senior Lecturer in Structural Geology