The most surprising thing about this referendum campaign?

[fourmummy]

I have hugely enjoyed being on MN during this time, having intelligent debates with well-informed people, but I have also found some things surprising. The most surprising thing for me has been the idea that we'll be pushed back to the Dark Ages by the Tories, and that we therefore need EU to protect us against this. I have also been surprised by people's voting intentions in RL, which I wouldn't have predicted. Have you been surprised by anything?

I'm surprised it hasn't become a Boris V Cameron contest, and you would effectively vote for who,you wanted running the party/country.

I'm also surprised by the lack of policies for the Brexit camp. In a general election, you know what each party policies will be. In Brexit, you don't really know what will happen. I thought there would be a coordinated campaign which would give us the options.

I not surprised that on a Facebook in/out quiz, I came 54% in favour of one outcome. It confirmed to me that for some issues I want to stay in, for others to leave.

Today's flotilla. This has been a horrific campaign where people have been getting very tightly wound. We needed a couple of clowns to lighten the mood. Thanks Bob & Nige.

I've apparently surprised many po-faced Remainers by speaking several languages, being educated abroad, having a degree, running a business that employs people internationally and still deciding to vote OUT.

A couple of those conversations began with sniggering and 'little England racist' comments (most memorably from my own family) and then turned a bit quiet.

MrsB, yes, the flotilla has made me weep, the Benny Hill music had me absolutely crying with laughter.

mooing

Ah yes. I have witnessed same. "No one would be stupid enough to vote out would they? Guffaw"

Cough, splutter.

And everyone of these comments has been said by someone who is inherently wealthy.

I am amazed that so many left leaning individuals don't seem to give a damn that the EU cannot pass an audit. They don't care that the EU is financially inept or/and corrupt.

Also that people cannot understand that immigration is not the major issue for many people who are voting leave.

I am amazed at how many politician seem to have grown a backbone, have been liberated from the party groupthink, are now telling the truth and thinking outside the box.

Iain Duncan Smith is like a new man attacking Cameron and Osborne.

I have been staggered to read so many posts on here from Stayers, displaying massively unwarranted superiority, whilst inferring that Leavers are uneducated, thick, ignorant, that we only care about immigration and border control (it's on my list of reasons but nowhere near the top of the list), etc.

Latest poll shows Leave 7 points ahead and I can't wait to see them crushed under the wave of Leave votes.

I think the biggest surprise is how utterly inept the Remain campaign has been: a procession of people that (often) the public don't like or respect speaking in very vague terms about why it's better to be in the EU than not - could not one of them come up with concrete examples of why their business/institution/industry would be better in than out?; increasingly desperate claims that the EU can be reformed from within which even the people making these claims look uneasy with; endless economic warnings that cumulatively begin to sound like threats. It's little wonder that people have gravitated towards the (imo, misplaced) optimism of Brexit.

I was surprised to find out that the result is only advisory and theoretically MPs could block a leave vote from actually happening.

If that happened, pristinechristine I think there would be a massive revolution in this country. People have had enough.

I always think of Britain as an outward-looking, internationalist nation. The kind that rejects the kind of right-wing nationalism we see in other countries

we are.

Thats why many people want to stop the Little Europe focus and start to open our arms to the world.

The right wing is on the rise in the EU. You want to be a part of that? Risk a far right EU in control, that we cant do anything about ?

No thanks.
Free, nimble, looking to the world.

I've been in meetings all day and have only just caught up with the thread. I totally missed the Thames flotilla debacle! Thanks, Red for that hilarious video (with the Benny Hill music). I think we all needed a good laugh to release the tension. Priceless!

I'm not surprised that so many people want to stick two fingers up at the Establishment and the EU.

But I am a bit concerned that they haven't grasped that a Leave vote is very unlikely to make anything in their daily lives better, and for a period at least will probably their daily lives worse, as the pound falls, the cost of imports rises and a lot of international businesses relocate some or all of their UK operations to the continent.

All the compliant people seem to be voting stay whilst free thinkers and the rebels are voting leave.

All the compliant people seem to be voting stay whilst free thinkers and the rebels are voting leave

Define compliant and free thinkers.

I find that description rather an interesting one.

The main thing that has completely surprised me is the lack of good stuff being said about the EU. No one from the remain campaign is busy simply singing it's praises regarding all any of the positive stuff that the EU does for the UK. They are not wowing me with lovely things the EU provides instead the message is along the lines of 'it's not perfect, or even that good really but if we leave we'll all be DOOMED and far worse off than we are now - here are some economic guesses to back up our argument for staying in'

I was originally a remainer with an apathetic yet slightly positive attitude to the EU, but since the people who are supposed to be singing it's praises and encouraging us to remain can not find any good things to say about the thing they are supporting I'm now leaning the other way

"The main thing that has completely surprised me is the lack of good stuff being said about the EU. "

This is because the Remain campaign are following the example of the fear-based (but successful) remain campaign run during the Scottish referendum.

There are quite a few good things the EU have done (e.g. reformed farming subsidies to encourage wildlife-friendly practices, banned various dodgy chemicals and pesticides, given lots of financial support to poorer countries and regions etc) but maybe they're not seen as glamorous enough to be worth shouting about.

Everyone should do their own research really (I know it can be hard to know who to believe) rather than relying on the biased and simplistic arguments put forward by the official campaigns on both sides.

Define compliant and free thinkers.

Compliant = the people who ask you which way their chosen political party is telling them to vote.

Free thinkers = those who have researched the issue and formulated their own opinion.

Nothing surprising as this graph demonstrates. Ignorant people vote out as they don't want to hear facts, sensible fact-driven people want to stay in.

So if you had a view on the EU before the referendum and actually gave a shit in either direction, which the majority of people didn't before they were forced to you are really well ahead of the curve then and are a proper Da Vinci. I guess that also make Farage Godlike.

Good stuff.

Compliant = those, on both sides of the political spectrum who are obediently following the party line(s), not rocking the boat and ensuring the playground bully tactics keep the wobblers in line.

Free thinkers = those who've knocked about the world a bit, aren't afraid of risk or adventure and are excited for the future not hiding behind the skirts of everyone telling them what a big ole scary place that world is...

Pointthefinger sometimes I waver about my decision to vote out. There are a couple of reasons I want to remain. But stupid ignorant arrogant posts like yours make me think 'fuck it'.

Lol! Desperate stuff PointThe Finger. But I'm quite happy as you cannot win a war if you don't understand your enemy. And the Remain campaign doesn't.

So if you had a view on the EU before the referendum and actually gave a shit in either direction, which the majority of people didn't before they were forced to you are really well ahead of the curve then and are a proper Da Vinci.

I've had very strong views about the EU since I spent a few days reading the Maastricht Treaty - unlike Ken Clarke who was the Chancellor at the time.

I guess that also make Farage Godlike.
You need to tone down your worship of Farage. He's not part of the Vote Leave campaign. Sorry if he's your hero but he doesn't do Leave any favours.

throughthickandthin then you are simply demonstrating your stupidity and ignorance by saying you are basing your decision on one random person's post you read on the Internet.

It's interesting that (broadly speaking) the middle classes, who on average have more assets and safer jobs, are going for the more pragmatic, risk-averse option.

Whereas the working classes, who on average are at greater risk from an economic downturn/more austerity, are voting on principle.