This is the problem with the Brexit argument. The political class in England (not in Scotland) consider parliament sovereign. It is not. In a democracy the people are sovereign and they exercise their sovereignty through democratic institutions of which parliament in the UK is the senior. But the people also exercise their sovereignty in the EU through their votes to elect members of the European parliament, as well as electing the national government which sits on the various instruments of EU governance. So the EU enhances the sovereignty of the people, while restricting the power of their UK elected parliamentarians, in favour of a wider power they, the people, exercise in Europe. So leaving Europe would reduce the sovereign power of the British people.
The latest Brexit argument is that Britain is becoming ‘ungovernable’ because of EU interference. This is equally untrue. The function of government is to manage the nation’s needs, resources and security in an effective order which delivers all the advantages of modern civilisation and aspirations for human advancement. It is not continually to invent new regulations and laws. At one time laws were local, imposed by the Baron. Later they became national. They are now becoming global. In the EU there is harmonisation of basic rights and regulations which govern everyday living and trade, which benefits everybody. I have never encountered a single individual in the UK whose life is being degraded by a European law, the driver for which has often been the UK itself. Basic laws are like human rights. They are fundamental and are best when universal.
What government should be doing is to make sure that the infrastructure is cutting edge; power generation is effective, environmentally friendly and delivering cost effective energy; education delivers rewarding lives to the young; the healthcare system is timely and efficient; housing is plentiful and affordable to rent or buy; poverty is eliminated; unemployment is minimal; the standard of living increases; the quality of life improves and so son and so on.
Yet under every one of the above headings this government and its predecessors going back many years have and are still failing. This is because they are preoccupied with changing structures by new laws, rather than by improving efficiency by investing in, streamlining and modernising functions. So health and education, for example, are subject to never ending re-organisations, but continually fall short of expectation. Other areas of government responsibility suffer from neglect, for example prisons and the prison system or power generation and capacity renewal.
At least the public at large is to some extent protected from the worst outcomes of serial failure by UK governance, because of the EU umbrella. Take that away and everybody is going to get very wet.