to still have no clue which way to vote on Thursday?

[DowntonIsMyHome]

I've looked at the BBC referendum check thing to try to get through the spin but it hasn't helped much

I'm a single parent at uni doing a post grad that will end next year, then I will qualify. I have a council house and barely made ends meet before quitting work to do the course

not sure if any of that means I should lean towards in or out but my whole family are 'out', citing life as 'better' before the EU and immigration as their reasons (I don't have the same view re immigration as they do, though)

argh.... the deadline is hurtling towards me and I ain't got a clue!

[Madeyemoodysmum]

I'm the same. I was an out but I don't know if I trust the British gov to do the right things if we are out either!

[EnriqueTheRingBearingLizard]

Have you read today's web chat thread? Maybe that will help.

[ilovesooty]

I'd like to know how your family thought life was better before the EU.

[YourPerception]

Close your eyes and place a cross anywhere.

Ask your family what the actual issue is with immigration. It may not be racisim. They may be unhappy that their income is undercut by employers travelling abroad to exploit others. They may be concerned there are no apprenticeship opportunities for their children due to cheap Labour.

The WC are not protected by EU workers rights they are on zero hour contracts etc.

If you want to help your family and the vulnerable vote leave. If you want to protect MC career opportunities for yourself vote stay.

[issues12345]

[houseeveryweekend]

Im voting remain. I think the EU has its problems but i would take it any day over our government. Im very frightened of what the right of the Tory party would be able to do without limits from the EU.

[houseeveryweekend]

Yourperception our workers are not protected by our own government. The lack of protection for people on zero hours contracts is a disgrace. The problem isnt immigration but that our government fails to do anything about companies exploiting immigrants who will work for longer hours than is safe for far less pay with no guarenteed weekly hours.

[A11TheSmallTh1ngs]

I've almost come round to thinking I should vote Brexit simply because I think it would be funny to watch people get what they deserve. As long as only the British economy is crashed (I live abroad).

[Brokenbiscuit]

If you want to help your family and the vulnerable vote leave. If you want to protect MC career opportunities for yourself vote stay.

What nonsense. If the economy crashes, the vulnerable in our society will suffer the most.

Do you really think Boris, Gove and Farage are the champions of the needy?!

[Alconleigh]

Nothing gets better by turning our back on the world. Leave votes seem to be largely some sort of protest by people who want to live in the 1950s. No vote in the world is going to make that happen. We live in a globalised society. Personally I think that is a wonderful thing. Leaving will be economically terrible, and we are likely to end up still bound by a lot of EU legislation anyway, while having no say in how it's made.

Having said all that, it's also a gut instinct thing for me; who do you want to align yourself with? For me, voting for a group identified in this campaign by hate, racism, division and fear would be impossible. Also, and God knows I have no time for David Cameron, but voting out actually gives the right of the Tories more power, not less.

[manicinsomniac]

It took me a long time to decide - I've decided to vote stay because:
a) I don't see what's wrong with the way we are now and change is a huge unknown risk
b) If almost all political leaders of widely differing stances think we should stay I don't see why the average, relatively uninformed citizen would disagree
c) I'm not rich personally but my job depends on rich people keeping their money and they're all terrified of a Brexit and think they will lose loads of money.

Based on the people I know, those is affluent, rural areas are voting remain and those from deprived, low income areas are voting leave. Those in larger cities are tending to vote stay but obviously there's a range there - again, it seems the wealthier you are the more likely you are to vote stay. But whether that's based on a greater knowledge/education/insight into the issue or just self interest I really don't know

[MintyChapstick]

I'm voting remain. The EU has its faults but if we vote for Brxit then Cameron will have to go, and the idea of Boris Johnson running the country is quite frankly terrifying. I also think there is a really sinister, xenophobic undertone to the leave campaign.

My DM who has been passionately Brexit all along has now decided to vote for remain for similar reasons to my own.

[manicinsomniac]

^^
Yes, I can't believe that the sudden swing in the polls in favour of stay is unrelated to the Jo Cox shooting. I know no reputable leave campaigner or voter would could consider it anything but appalling and tragic but I think somehow the link is there in people's minds, even subconsciously.

[SpringSpringSpring]

I'm voting remain because I love being part of Europe and the stability and opportunities it provides. It's also important to see that the vast majority of experts on a range of issues are in favour of remain.

[Binkybix]

Almost everyone accepts that exit will contract our economy in at least the short term. Entering the job market (as you will be) during a recession impacts peoples' earning capacity throughout their career, not just when they enter it.

In your position I think you'd be crazy to bite anything but in.

[mollie123]

but you do realise that the conservative government is not for LIFE
remaining in the EU is
no-one is saying that Boris would be the new PM
this government has 4 more years to run - if you don't like them or think any other party could do better - YOU CAN VOTE THEM OUT
why do you trust the high income selfish 'remain' lobby who are exploiting the tragic death of Jo Cox for their own end
Thank goodness they also only have 1 vote each.
I do think it is very unkind of you to imply that your relatives are xenophobic daily mail readers and therefore unable to make a sensible choice. I suspect most of them are anti 'unlimited ' immigration and advocating control (you know to ensure that the infrastructure can cope)
and do you really think that 'stay' will ensure forever your comfortable guardian-reading 'right-on' lifestyles. Good luck with that.

[ToastDemon]

Brexit will contract the economy. And given the recent recession and then the austerity measures, people in general are not in a strong position as it is. I would imagine that a further downturn will start to make things rather ugly.

[A11TheSmallTh1ngs]

If Britain votes out, Scotland will leave the UK. Permanent Tory majority.

[t4gnut]

Unfortunately the immigration thing is a complete red herring appropriated by the far right (and grossly ignorant) - in short immigration has benefited the country massively from a financial perspective and the increased taxation revenue its raised could quite easily have paid for increased infrastructure if the tories weren't quite so keen on breaking it.

Simply put - if Nigel the racist scumbag Farage thinks its a good idea then do the opposite.

[purplevase4]

Im voting remain. I think the EU has its problems but i would take it any day over our government. Im very frightened of what the right of the Tory party would be able to do without limits from the EU

I agree with this. I know people say it's not about the Tories, but on the assumption that Scotland would leave the UK at some point, we're going to have a permanent Tory majority. The very first thing a Tory government would do would be to reduce employment rights. And it's worth looking at Nigel Farage's Twitter feed when he said that the EU were stupid to give women maternity rights. No spin, no lies, it's there in black and white. He might not be a minister in a post-Brexit government, but others like him will be. We need to be in the EU to have some sort of protection from extreme policies.

Put it this way. Until David Cameron announced that there would be a referendum, had being in the EU bothered you? Had you even thought about it? If not, why vote to leave?

People say "would you vote to join the EU now"? If not, vote leave. But that's not right. You're comparing apples with pears. We are in. There is a consequence to leaving. If we were not in, presumably there would be a reason we were thinking of joining (eg rubbish economy). In any event, if we were joining now, we'd have to join the euro etc. It would not be the same arrangements as we have now. And if we were not in, and voted to stay out, that would be keeping the status quo.

I don't think we can control immigration any more outside the EU than we can inside - think of all the people in Calais/Dunkirk trying to come in. The French would cease trying to stop them coming in.

As for investing the money saved on the EU in the NHS. Firstly I don't think a right wing government would anyway. But I think the money would just get spent on more benefits payments due to the economy being bad, and sorting out the legal mess (there would have to be a lot more government lawyers for example).

The only thing I think is scaremongering is the idea that Ireland would move to put up border posts. The Common Travel Area is separate to the EU and I can't see why that would change (Channel Islands and Isle of Man are not in the EU now).

Put simply, I can't see any advantages to leaving.

[mananana]

I'm voting remain for these reasons (thanks MintyChapstick)


The EU has its faults but if we vote for Brxit then Cameron will have to go, and the idea of Boris Johnson running the country is quite frankly terrifying. I also think there is a really sinister, xenophobic undertone to the leave campaign.

[RedHelenB]

I was confident that voting to remain was the right thing looking at the prominent Brexit supporters but then my dd informs me that Jeremy Clarkson is remain!

[mananana]

I was confident that voting to remain was the right thing looking at the prominent Brexit supporters but then my dd informs me that Jeremy Clarkson is remain!

Well don't be so influenced by what other people do

make your own mind up

[foolsgold]

This video is the clearest analysis of the facts I've seen so far.

"University of Liverpool Law School’s Professor Michael Dougan has spent his career studying EU law as it relates to the UK; contributing to Parliamentary Select Committees, advising government and now helping media fact check the barrage of assertions emanating from the Remain and Leave camps, in the run up to June 23."

[MsFloraPoste]

I'm voting remain, for similar reasons to MintyChapstick and ManicInsomniac.

Leave would mean the certainty of short term damage and disruption to the economy, and the likelihood of much longer term damage to both employment opportunities and workers' rights.

I'm also concerned about the environmental implications of a leave vote - climate change and pollution don't stop at national boundaries so we need international cooperation.