Former Lancastrian

Well history was made last night when the House of Commons voted 544 Yes to 53 No in favour of holding a referendum as to if the UK should stay or leave the EU.
EU referendum vote: History made as MPs vote in favour of EU referendum by 544 to 53 | Politics | News | Daily Express

So will it be a fair question to put to the populace or will it be worded in such a way thats its not clear with hidden clauses or whatever.

Im betting the question won't be worded like this

Do you want/wish the UK to stay in the EU Yes or No?

mikelincs

Cameron said it would be a simple, clear yes/no vote, with the wording being something like 'Do you want the UK to remain part of the EU' Yes/No.

Former Lancastrian

So you trust Cameron then?

mikelincs

I was just quoting what he had said on numerous occasions when asked by the media. Wouldn't trust him at any cost.

Shard

Yes, mike is right. It's been said from the start that question will be a clear yes/no. It remains to be seen which way the country will actually vote...probably by a clear majority to stay "in" but who knows. There are arguments to be had on both sides. And even without the arguments, there are plenty of Little Englanders that will automatically vote "out".

Novocastrian

OK, I'll bite. What are the arguments for No?

jimf

I would expect a clear yes to stay in when it comes to the vote. The problem is a yes will be used as endorsement to advance the EU project yet further. A third option - we don't really like it but we're probably stuck with it so ok yes i suppose so - would probably win.

Shard

Assuming No means out of EU, then a principal argument would be border control and other aspects of self determination. I'm not in that camp, but there's no point in denying that some people are or dismissing issues they have. The referendum may well turn into a Pandora's box.

jimf

And the arguments for yes?

Shard

Economic, cultural, historic. Agree with your previous post BTW.

Editha

Novo said:

You mean you don't read the Daily Telegraph. I'm shocked!

Editha

I may be being cynical, but I think the 'No' vote is going to be 99.9% on the issue of immigration, not any of the other issues to do with EU membership.

Given that the rightwing press are generally anti-EU and won't have any scruples about exciting anti-immigrant views in the run up to the vote, I am pessimistic about the outcome.

BritInParis

I just hope the 'Out' campaign will be honest in what leaving the EU will actually mean. The constant refrain from UKIP is that we need to leave the EU in order to control our own borders and not be subject to the jurisdiction of a 'foreign' court, neither of which is true, as we would also need to leave the EEA and the Council of Europe for that to happen.

Novocastrian

Exactly. Honest Dave's "simple" question, "Remain in the EU; yes or no", isn't anything like as simple as it appears.

Novocastrian

That's not an argument. It's a slogan.