The UK's EU referendum: All you need to know
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H9Z4sn8csA
Watch the videos and read the article about whether the UK should stay in the EU or not.
Ruth's opinion:
I had a postal vote and have already voted. I voted to remain, mostly because I live in Spain and feel European. I think my decision making process would have been different if I still lived in Scotland. I understand some of the arguements for leaving,the european Union which are mainly monetary but i think quite difficult for the man in the street to fully comprehend. My main worry about leaving the Union is the people who are leading the campaign eg Farage from UKIP and Boris Johnson, both of whom I would not trust. On saying that I dont trust David Cameron either and have never been a supporter of him, especially since the Scottish referendum.
To leave Europe is crazy. The EEC was created to support and to protect us all and by and large it does this. Many of us have been happy and willing to share our everyday lives with Europe for this very reason. Being European British does not mean renouncing national identity and going back to former insular days. There has always been a strong reaction against the EEC particularly in the media and it looks as if it will be a very close result. It isn't about personalities although Brexit would seem to provide a strong home for reactionary and right wing forces but not totally. Some honestly see a new dawn for the UK. The Return campaign has seemed extremely reasonable yet a bit lacklustre in the headlights of a well organised if somewhat fanciful and deluded Brexit offensive. Even reasonable people can see that the EEC requires compromise yet it is still growing and maybe it has become rather cumbersome. Yet this is my future not reverting back to the good old days when Britain ruled the Waves' Nobody really knows what will happen if we vote to leave other than regaining sovereignty (they talk as if Brussels is totally alien to anything the English want) and renegotiating everything with anyone we want regardless of the fact that In Europe we already have a huge established market.
Ruth's opinion:
I had a postal vote and have already voted. I voted to remain, mostly because I live in Spain and feel European. I think my decision making process would have been different if I still lived in Scotland. I understand some of the arguements for leaving,the european Union which are mainly monetary but i think quite difficult for the man in the street to fully comprehend. My main worry about leaving the Union is the people who are leading the campaign eg Farage from UKIP and Boris Johnson, both of whom I would not trust. On saying that I dont trust David Cameron either and have never been a supporter of him, especially since the Scottish referendum.
Interestingly, Nicolla Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister has said she thinks the UK should remain in Europe but if, however, the Uk decide to leave Europe in may provoke another Scottish referendum. We live in interesting times!
Andy's opinion:
Andy's opinion:
To leave Europe is crazy. The EEC was created to support and to protect us all and by and large it does this. Many of us have been happy and willing to share our everyday lives with Europe for this very reason. Being European British does not mean renouncing national identity and going back to former insular days. There has always been a strong reaction against the EEC particularly in the media and it looks as if it will be a very close result. It isn't about personalities although Brexit would seem to provide a strong home for reactionary and right wing forces but not totally. Some honestly see a new dawn for the UK. The Return campaign has seemed extremely reasonable yet a bit lacklustre in the headlights of a well organised if somewhat fanciful and deluded Brexit offensive. Even reasonable people can see that the EEC requires compromise yet it is still growing and maybe it has become rather cumbersome. Yet this is my future not reverting back to the good old days when Britain ruled the Waves' Nobody really knows what will happen if we vote to leave other than regaining sovereignty (they talk as if Brussels is totally alien to anything the English want) and renegotiating everything with anyone we want regardless of the fact that In Europe we already have a huge established market.
This referendum has upset the applecart of British politics and both conservatives and labour politicians are at each other's throats. How they will reconcile their views is an interesting prospect. The assassination of Jo Cox a Labour MP has upset everybody and brought a great solemnity to the country. Who knows how this will affect things on Thursday? Although her attacker was far right wing and a brexit supporter he was also deranged. Let's hope that this reactionary movement is rejected and we can move on.
Write and essay explaining the advantages and disadvantages of Britain staying in the UK and your opinion about it.
100 words------------------------B1
150 words------------------------B2
240 words------------------------C1
As an English man, married to a Catalan, living and working here in Catalonia but with strong ties to my home country my view on 'brexit' (whether the UK should leave the EU or not) is, perhaps, a little more biased than then standard man in the street back in my home country.
ResponEliminaThat said, for me the decision is a 'no brainer'. Whatever the history of the UK within Europe has been it is clear that we must look forward, not back and in my view the UK and the EU are both stronger and better positioned for the future together, not apart.
A couple of things really worry me about the forthcoming referendum.
Firstly there is so much rhetoric and political point scoring going on across both sides of the campaign that the availability of factual, unbiased information seem hard to come across - yet it is all this potentially 'mis-information' which is flying around that the average person in the street will have to use to make their decision. The truth is no-one knows what will happen if the UK leaves the EU. We have a fairly good idea of what the future holds if we stay but leaving is uncharted waters and despite all the assurances from the 'leave' campaign even they don't really know what would happen post referendum and that should be a scary prospect to anyone thinking on voting to leave.
The second point that really stands out for me is the split of opinion across age groups. The percentage of people who have said they will vote to leave the EU is significantly higher in the 40+ age bracket whereas the younger the voter, the more likely it is that they will vote to stay. Again this concerns me. Clearly the older population of the UK have lived through difficult times with the integration of the UK and EU so their view is perhaps understandable but, at the end of the day, it is the younger population who have more of the lives, careers and futures tied into the decision which will be taken next week and again I think that is a concern for the future of the UK if a leave decision is taken.
So, with only a week to go before the vote I will be keeping a close eye on what the polls are saying and will be keeping my fingers crossed that, what is for me, the right decision is taken.