Hi John: Part of the issue is that we have a binary choice but not a binary problem. The first part is that people do not agree what the problem is. The likes of you and I do not like the structure of the EU at the moment, and we do not think it sustainable. However, even amongst all of these people who agree on that problem, some think it would be better to try to stay and attempt to fix it, while others think that it would be best to leave and watch the smash-up from the outside. A possible historical corollary is the euro. People say "wow, that was a bullet we dodged", but it's possible (I'd say, 30% to 40%) that if we HAD joined the euro, it would no longer exist. The presence of the UK in the single currency would have hastened its demise. Perhaps if we vote to stay in the EU, the inevitable change will be accelerated, and that will be for the long-term good. Perhaps, on the other hand, it would be better for us to watch it as an outsider. Cameron has finally begun to address this point, referring to "quitters" and accepting that the real battle would begin the day after we vote to stay in. The second binary choice is the headline one. A general pro or anti-Europe feeling and, more particularly, anti-immigration. That's a more simplistic argument whereby what you think the problem is (or isn't) necessarily dictates the way you will vote.
The major influence on my voting intention so far has been the Remainers' initial determination to dismiss all Brexiters as Farage-type little Englanders. The Remainers refusal to engage in economic debate and their "we have the high ground" attitude has royally pissed me off. You will not persuade me to vote one way because I disagree with the majority of the people who are voting the other. For me the major factor is -- do I want to be on the inside or the outside when the inevitable future reshaping of the EU (and Europe) takes place. I think that the doom-mongering of the Remainers is either bluff (particularly from the City and big business -- they just don't fancy the extra work and uncertainty) or innumeracy (trust me, the economy would not collapse by even a quarter of many of the Remainers' predictions, no more than celebrities ever follow through with their threat to leave the country if a tax is increased by a relatively small amount.)
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Part of the issue is that we have a binary choice but not a binary problem.
The first part is that people do not agree what the problem is. The likes of you and I do not like the structure of the EU at the moment, and we do not think it sustainable.
However, even amongst all of these people who agree on that problem, some think it would be better to try to stay and attempt to fix it, while others think that it would be best to leave and watch the smash-up from the outside.
A possible historical corollary is the euro. People say "wow, that was a bullet we dodged", but it's possible (I'd say, 30% to 40%) that if we HAD joined the euro, it would no longer exist. The presence of the UK in the single currency would have hastened its demise. Perhaps if we vote to stay in the EU, the inevitable change will be accelerated, and that will be for the long-term good. Perhaps, on the other hand, it would be better for us to watch it as an outsider.
Cameron has finally begun to address this point, referring to "quitters" and accepting that the real battle would begin the day after we vote to stay in.
The second binary choice is the headline one. A general pro or anti-Europe feeling and, more particularly, anti-immigration. That's a more simplistic argument whereby what you think the problem is (or isn't) necessarily dictates the way you will vote.
The major influence on my voting intention so far has been the Remainers' initial determination to dismiss all Brexiters as Farage-type little Englanders. The Remainers refusal to engage in economic debate and their "we have the high ground" attitude has royally pissed me off. You will not persuade me to vote one way because I disagree with the majority of the people who are voting the other. For me the major factor is -- do I want to be on the inside or the outside when the inevitable future reshaping of the EU (and Europe) takes place. I think that the doom-mongering of the Remainers is either bluff (particularly from the City and big business -- they just don't fancy the extra work and uncertainty) or innumeracy (trust me, the economy would not collapse by even a quarter of many of the Remainers' predictions, no more than celebrities ever follow through with their threat to leave the country if a tax is increased by a relatively small amount.)