How will you vote in the EU referendum-Leave or Stay?

[BritBrit]

How will you be voting? Can admin add a poll?

More like "Give us your money, then we'll give some of it back like pocket money and tell you where to spend it".

I've already pointed out above why that analogy doesn't work.

Winterbiscuit, I would say that it'd come in handy to have a unified government the day we're invaded by aliens from outer space

Surely it's like all taxes? it's always tempting to count what you pay the government every month, and say "well I've only been to the GP once, what am I paying for, grumble grumble". But that's forgetting all the structural benefits you get from living in a society that pools resources.

Massively over simple analogy that doesn't demonstrate any of the nuances. The net amount that we pay into the EU in fiscal terms is a drop in the ocean, its isn't the significant spend that brexiters make it out to be, and if the is economic contraction following brexit the likelihood of us not having the "extra" in terms of tax take is high.

As for world government? Its possible, but unlikely, even the EU doesn't have as much power as you make out and a totally federal state is highly unlikely, even if one occurs it is unlikely to include the UK or Denmark for sure, and others would have to have their own referendums in the first place.

Yeah, the European superstate thing is so obviously not going to happen that it's not even worth discussing.

I've already pointed out above why that analogy doesn't work.

Not quite. You've said that the EU doesn't give us back what we pay in - true. You've also said that we get money from companies as a result of being in the EU which would reduce after Brexit - it's debateable, as certainly not all companies would necessarily up and leave the UK. You've also not looked at how possibly a few years after Brexit, the UK's economy could thrive, with new trade deals around the world, less red tape for the 94 per cent of businesses here that are small or medium sized, etc.

I'm sorry but you're living in a fantasy land. We can't out precise figures on it, but the increased business we get from being in is obvious. And if we leave, I think we will witness something of a rapid exodus by international companies. They'll take their business elsewhere, and stay there.

Who was it that asked for this referendum by the way? How did it come about?

oh that 94% statistic? 74% of businesses employ one person and the vast majority of them are sole traders. What costs does the EU enforce on your local sparky or plumber? Its a poor argument. The other bits it does enforce are things about workers rights, health and safety, which of those bits would you like to get rid of?

Oh and we'd still have to abide by European regulations if we wanted to trade with them, they wouldn't accept good that didn't.

The loony kippers and more right-wing Tory voters asked for it. Cameron promised it because he didn't think he would actually get a majority and have to keep his promise. What an omnishambles.

Didn't Cameron promise it because he got scared by the right wing Tory grass roots switching to UKIP votes in European and local elections?

As said he never thought he'd get a majority and that it would be one of the things the the Lib Dems negotiated out of the Queens Speech.

Buttered - you may find this interesting..
www.fwi.co.uk/news/exclusive-survey-reveals-farmers-back-eu-exit.htm

But the NFU said a majority wanted to stay in, interesting though.

you can't really be mad at people getting a say, there's no denying it's democratic.

what I am mad at, though, is the rampant disinformation about the EU that has pervaded the media for years, thus making it very difficult to hold a reasonable debate and for people to make an informed decision.

Cameron is not guilty of calling a referendum, but he is guilty of having coasted on a xenophobic and demagogic media for years. Now it's too late to row back, and it may cause him to lose said referendum. I'd say he's only getting what he deserves, except we'll all be paying for it.

Well most people voting for Brexit are turkeys voting for Christmas, so why should farmers be any different? Except that the fact that they know full well they couldn't survive without the subsidies they currently get under CAP really ought to make them think a bit more carefully about which side their bread is buttered.

What I don't really understand is why Cameron gave George Eustace - a known europhobe who once ran unsuccessfully as an MEP for UKIP - the farming portfolio. George Eustace repeatedly tells farmers that everything is Europe's fault and insists that they'll still get their subsidies if we leave, but he's not in a position to make those kinds of promises because he can't guarantee we will have enough money to maintain those subsidies, and even if we do, he won't be the one in charge of the budget.

I think that's why it is going to be a close result, same as the Scottish referendum. It is very difficult to have the actual facts. If it was so clear how great the EU is for us then no one would be worried, we'd all know how to vote. To show the polls are pretty even is crazy don't you think? When does that ever happen?!

Well most people voting for Brexit are turkeys voting for Christmas
ha!

I like Christmas :)

I don't think people really were worried before the current Tory government got in. But the Tories do have a tendency to blame their own failings and unpopular decisions on the EU because it's a convenient scapegoat. That's why (as Chalalala says above) David Cameron has now got his work cut out for him trying to persuade people to vote remain.

I don't remember people frothing at the mouth over the EU when Labour were in power. Probably because the government wasn't persistently portraying the EU as the enemy.

It is said that Blair and Clinton will be the next politicians to try to sway the vote towards remain. Is this why the Chilcot report has been delayed until after the referendum?

David Cameron ‘delaying Chilcot report until after EU referendum to avoid embarrassing Tony Blair’

"David Cameron has been accused of delaying the publication of the official inquiry into the Iraq War to be until late June to avoid embarrassing key ‘In’ campaigners in the European Union referendum."

"Matthew Jury, a lawyer at McCue & Partners which is representing 29 families of British soldiers who died in Iraq, said: “The families simply cannot understand why, if the report is finalised this Friday, it will then take three months for it just to be typeset and proofread."

I don't get to vote as I'm not British but if I was voting, I'd vote leave and mainly due to immigration. I lived in the UK on a work visa for 8 years and wasn't allowed to claim 'public support' eg housing allowance, benefits etc, although as a taxpayer I contributed to them. I thought this was fair; the UK had enough homegrown liabilities, I should only be there if I was an asset not a drain. I'm now married to an A8 EU, and many of his friends and extended family live in the UK a Ireland, and work in low paid jobs and claim top ups from the government. If you cannot live on a wage in basic circumstances, then the job is paying too little, and if it's paying too little, it's because there's too many applicants or the business owner is using state funds to subsidise his work force.
No one should be moving to a country and claiming assistance until they have made a contribution for five years minimum... I suspect if these were the rules, wages would go up (lack of applicants) and immigration from the Eastern Bloc would go down (and perhaps from further afield).
I'd also be very concerned with the prospective member countries such as Turkey, Macedonia etc The culture is too different. Have trade agreements, introduce travel visas, but don't let them join.

The culture is too different.

Can you expand on that, Pani, and why you feel it matters?

Well most people voting for Brexit are turkeys voting for Christmas

Good for them, if they're putting what they think is right above themselves.

Sounds like you heard what Farage said the other day. He was asked whether a vote for Brexit would put him out of a job. He replied "I am the turkey that will vote for Christmas!"

Nigel Farage: EU referendum debate without Ukip is 'quite ridiculous'

He's the turkey that will get a job on the board of EU regulation fearing hedge funds more like.

Nigel is a turkey, that's for damn sure. But unlike other people whose jobs may be lost, he will still have free movement (thanks to his German wife) and will still be able to afford his groceries (thanks to his substantial personal wealth).

So not really a selfless act at great personal risk in his case, is it?