Keep the 23rd of June 2016 free as this is the date that has been announced by Prime Minister David Cameron for the UK Referendum when the UK public will decide whether the UK will stay in or leave the EU.
The media have coined the phrase #brexit
So what can we expect:
- i) No doubt lots of scare mongering; esp around immigration, jobs, security and financial implications
- ii) divisions within the main political parties when it becomes clear what side of the fence the politicians will sit. The main parties have declared it will be their own choice
iii) 4 months of media speculation
- iv) potential for flash points between people with different views
So what is the main question
What do you need to know and will we actually know the truth before deciding what to vote
As it currently stands I have no idea how I will vote I have many thoughts but have seen little conclusive evidence to backup the ideas being muted at the moment.
The scare mongering has begun especially around immigration already there is talk of if we exit then the French Authorities will not allow UK border checks at Calais et al (on French soil) so we will be powerless to stop the migrants from crossing the channel so the migrant camps will spring up in the UK.
The referendum date was announced after Cameron announced he had secured a good deal with Brussels and afford the UK a special status within the EU so as to ensure the UK has more controls over its own laws and policies. Already several media and political figures are disagreeing over how effective in practice this deal is.
There are two choices i) Stay In and ii) Leave, already it seems there are at least two Leave camps Grassroots Out and Vote Leave the latter being a Tory led group. At some point the Electoral commission will anoint one official group for In and One for out. Let’s hope that some sense prevails and the Out groups merge into one before then. If they don’t then it’s possible in my view they will not be seen in a united front and will be less likely to persuade people to join their cause.
What do we know so far of public opinion; it seems quite tight according to the polls but what do they know given the polls being wildly out for the general election. Prior to the referendum in May there are council and police commissioner elections to be had I doubt there will be much public appetite for that esp the police commissioner one.