EU Referendum: Are you yawning yet?

EU Referendum: Are you yawning yet? There are some of us (yes confession time) who did not want to waste time and money on this referendum. I have already voted, by post, to REMAIN but have not been campaigning from the roof tops! A faction of the Tory party, goaded by  UKIP, got it to become Conservative party policy to promise the country an IN/OUT referendum on membership of the EU, IF they got a majority. I don’t think the reasonable faction of the Tory party expected that to happen in May 2015 but it did so here we are!

I just want to make one thing clear. On the 23rd June it is a REFERENDUM not a General Election so the promises of emergency budgets or spending on everything and anything popular will struggle to get through, whatever the result. Simple truth is, we have the Conservative party, with a small majority running the country. A big enough number of them want OUT and have been making promises that the world will be your oyster if you vote leave so they will not agree with the other Tories who might want to punish us if that is what most people vote. Equally, if we vote ‘In’, that same group of Tories will not be able to make hell freeze over or make people living in all other European countries want to celebrate by coming over here to live!

What you have now is Tories squabbling and, if the vote is close then what you will have after 23rd June is Tories squabbling and not too sure who or how the Country is going to be run! The silver lining to it all might be that whoever ends up as Chancellor cannot get a budget through and that the Government will fall, as that will equal a vote of no confidence! I may be dreaming or wishing for an opportunity for the electorate to have an earlier chance to stop us being run by Tories!

Alternative EU rant over!!

Some people have asked me why I have voted to remain in the EU and my explanation will seem very simplistic compared to all the exchanges of numbers and alternative doomsday scenarios. Living in Cornwall, I feel we benefit from funding from the EU and do not believe we can rely on a London based Government to give us a generous financial settlement to make up for the loss. The history of inadequate funding to our police, health, education and local authority do not support those claims. In addition, the National Political landscape and the first past the post voting system is going to mean we are likely to live in a Country governed by a party who favour big business and the wealthy. I think the EU (and the House of Lords, another institution that is far from perfect) give ordinary people, the poor, disabled and indeed workers some added protection from the whims of Tory policy. Me personally, I’ll probably do ok in or out the EU but my vote was for those more on the margins who will likely be less protected if we leave the EU.

PLEASE NOTE: This post was drafted before the tragic death of Jo Cox, Labour MP. I delayed posting it but felt it was not saying anything she could not broadly support so felt I could now post it, especially as if not killed, I know she would have voted to remain.