Remain

Dear Sheddists,

my dear wife is currently watching BBC's, 'The Great EU Debate' downstairs as I sit behind my trusty Victrola in the upper reaches of the House of electrofried. All I can hear are muffled shouts from below, which pretty much appear to sum up the campaign to date.

But behind the bluff, bravado and emotional invective the arguments are becoming increasingly clear. I started firmly in the 'Leave' camp but having listened to what's been said I now stand even more decisively for 'Remain'.  Here are my four key reasons...

The facts

It is a fact virtually all the economic experts, both here and overseas, are of the opinion that leaving the EU will be significantly detrimental to the economic health of the country.

Of course there are one or two dissenters. Of course the experts may be wrong - it wouldn't be the first time. But simply saying the experts are wrong without providing any cogent explanation why is not an answer.

I'm old enough to remember what it was like before we joined the EU. The time the lights went out for the three day working week, the time the rubbish piled up in the streets, the time corpses lay chilling in the mortuary waiting for burial.  Joining the EU brought financial discipline to the fore and we've never looked back since.

The immigration argument

'Leave' campaigners would have us believe immigration is a bad thing. I disagree. Frankly, I want to be treated effectively when I visit a hospital, I want to enjoy agricultural produce grown in the UK and I want to eat and drink where the service is first-rate.

Just three very small examples why immigration is such a positive thing - there are, of course, a lot more substantiated economic arguments to back this up.

But even if I am wrong on this count, will leaving the EU enable us to take control as Mr Farage may suggest?  It seems highly unlikely. Why should the EU let us have unlimited access to their markets without requiring us to observe the same rules concerning freedom of movement?

I feel deeply uncomfortable that a nation founded on values of tolerance and cultural richness should suddenly turn "Little Britain' and close its borders. The recent poster campaign showing Mr Farage photo-shopped in front of a  line of desperate Syrian refugees fleeing an evil regime says it all. I want no part of this.

National security

I have little doubt Mr Putin would like us out of the EU. It will weaken significantly the move toward democracy that has slowly and surely rolled back the Iron Curtain.

Yes, let's leave ... and see the strength of the Union diminish.

The threat of globalisation

Even more concerning is the rise and rise of global enterprise.

Yes, we need thriving enterprise and business. Without it we will have no viable National Health Service, no resource to provide meaningful employment, no means to pay the pensions of those who have worked tirelessly for our future.

But capitalism unchecked is a very, very dangerous thing.  The international banking crisis nearly bankrupted the world - a wake-up call to the risks that increasingly confront us.  Even more insidiously, huge global organisations engage highly skilled and hugely expensive tax experts to shuffle money around the world to safe harbours beyond the reach of national taxation.

Can we really provide a meaningful 'check and balance' to these excesses on our own?

Our votes count

Having considered carefully all the above I am of the firm opinion that vote 'Remain' will serve our country best.

Your views may differ and I respect this 100% - that's what true democracy is about. Whatever your views I do urge you to use your vote on Thursday.  This may be the most important decision our country will make in a long, long, long time to come.