Thanks to everyone who took part in last week’s poll on whether to stay in or leave the EU.
208 people took part, out of 492 who read the post – so 42% of readers decided to vote.
Hopefully the actual referendum will have a slightly higher turnout. Bizarrely though, 42% was the turnout in the last referendum that took place in the UK (as opposed to Scotland) in 2011, the bungled vote on changes to the way we vote for members of parliament. Only 36% of the electorate voted in the 2014 elections for Members of the European Parliament.
The readership here is not representative of the voting electorate – well I say that, I have no direct evidence that it is true, but I imagine it is.
Anyway 75% of you voted to stay in the EU, while 19% voted to leave, with 5% still undecided.
I suspect the real poll will be a lot closer than that.
a new nature blog 
One issue to consider is where to get accurate facts to base an assessment on, would you trust a politician, a banker or a businessman? The research you undertake and make available is helpful in the decision making process so thank you Miles.
What would be amusing if it wasn’t otherwise typical of politicians contempt for the voters is their spin on the decision being down to ordinary people.
Quite brazenly they promote economic based decision, then they try the security threat or loss of sovereignty. Look where economics have got us, bankers bail out etc. parliamentary abuse (expenses scandal & ongoing) politicians pay rise of 11% (backdated) and the next scheduled for 1.3%. As for sovereignty, do we really think a two party ‘democracy’ is a choice? Any mention in the spin doctors rhetoric of the environment?
Assume we stay in, the intent is still to cut the green ‘c**p’ so private profit benefits, underpinned of course by public funds.
There’s more than just EU membership overhaul required to fix the disparate state we have created?
What has occurred to me is that during the run up to the AV referendum the right-wing were saying that we should keep the first- past- the- post sytem because the Alternative Vote was too complicated for the electorate, and yet now they (I say “they” because its is predominantly the right that wants out of Europe) are giving a vote to everyone on an issue that is actually very complex and involved, and most of us, and maybe I include myself in this, are not really equipped to judge. After all, in my experience many people don’t even know who is their own MP. let alone who are their MEPs and how the European parliament works, so how they can possibly know what will be the best way of making important decisions that affect the UK is beyond me. As Nimby says, we can’t really trust the MPs on either side to give us impartial information. Economics doesn’t play much of a part in my decision-making. I’m going to decide on what’s best for our environment, our (global) society, and my grandchildren.