Whisper it softly….Brexit….there, I think I got away with it….

Let’s ‘av a heated debaaaate!

-Mrs Merton

Brexit – are you in or out? A question with the potential to divide any social gathering.

However, we tackled this issue head on in our fortnightly BLT networking group; the findings were rather interesting….

The questions

• 6 key Brexit issues, ranked from 6 (most important) to 1 (least important), the issues being Economy, Influence, Immigration, Money paid to EU, Sovereignty &  Security
• Effectiveness of campaigning to date by both the ‘Leave’ and ‘Remain’ campaigns (again, out of 6)
• Your current position: ‘Remain’, ‘Leave’, ‘Don’t Know’ (and whether your position might change between now & polling date)

The results

From a straw poll of 10 people:

• The Economy was the only issue we all agreed upon, scoring an average of 5.5; i.e. everybody thought it either the ‘Most Important’, or ‘Very Important’
• All the other issues scored 3.1-3.5, so there was no real consensus either way
• Both ‘Leave’ and ‘Remain’ campaigns scored an average of ‘2’; i.e. neither have been very effective to date
• Current positions: around 50% ‘Remain’, 25% ‘Leave’, 25% ‘Don’t Know’

Brexit – in or out?

Our thoughts

• Even though Immigration was not a key concern for our group, we recognised that it is THE major concern for a lot of people, particularly (on an anecdotal basis) for the elder generation
• People are likely to vote for the ‘Least Worst’ option
• The ‘Leave’ campaign would probably have more chance of winning on a lower turnout; i.e. apathy/complacency by the ‘Remain’ voters?
• The issue is more than likely to be decided in the last couple of weeks, hence this is where ‘new’ information is most likely to come to light

Going forwards

So, on Thursday June 23rd, we go to the polls to answer the following question:

Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?

Following the vote, the UK would be able to withdraw from the EU two years after telling the European Council that its wants to go, although there would still be lengthy negotiations to agree its ongoing relationship with Europe and various trade agreements.

Maybe it’s quite apt that it’s the Eurovision Song Contest on this weekend – nobody seems to understand the voting there, but it all seems to work out OK in the end….