Why does the Remain Campaign seem weak?

'Remainers' think it's so obvious that we should stay in the EU they find it hard to actually state why, and forget to state what is obvious to them.

Here are some actual reasons why they support remaining in the EU:

• The EU was formed to promote Peace in Europe in the aftermath of two world wars and countless other conflicts. Reference
  The basic idea was to build positive relationships between neighbouring countries by forging mutually beneficial trade.
  'Remainers' think it's obvious that this is a good thing and that it is something to support. And what better way to endorse such a powerful motion for peace than by being a part of it.
  
  In 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for advancing the causes of peace, reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe.
• The EU has aimed to create a 'level playing field' (with all the 'red tape') so that trade between member states can be fairer, by preventing companies undercutting others with products made to poor standards by underpaid workers. The intended result is higher quality goods, better wages and better working conditions for everyone. In essence, a better quality of life.
• Similarly, the EU aims to protect the environment by again 'levelling the playing field'. Economically it's very unlikely one country is going to 'clean up its act' ahead of others when the economic costs of doing so make products more expensive and less competitive than your neighbours. Whilst such agreements can be made on the World stage, the EU stage is an important stepping stone to that, adds weight on the world stage and can not just implement a 'stick' mentality with fines for those who pollute, but a 'carrot' mentality with grants, subsidies and other benefits for those doing the right thing. By the way, this isn't just about solar panels and wind farms, there are all sorts of agricultural cheap short-cuts that destroy the environment.
• Free travel around Europe is amazing. Not only for those holidaying, but for students studying and companies doing business. Remember 44% of our exports are now to the EU. The fall of the Berlin Wall and Peace in Northern Ireland are just a couple of examples, but our ancestors would be totally gob-smacked by the travel opportunities that we now take for granted.
• The EU promotes Peace by fairly supporting humanitarian aid on the EU borders, sharing the cost of this more fairly. If we don't support our neighbours the problems that develop then spread.
• Being in the EU allows us to have a say in how it operates.
• Being part of the EU allows us to be a part of bigger projects and to gain the benefit from them (such as the EU GPS initiative and international policing and crime prevention)
• Being part of the EU gives us a cheeky advantage being the native English-speaking nation; it makes us an attractive route for business into Europe from global traders who might prefer to communicate in English.

The above reasons of

• Peace
• Quality of life
• Care of the shared environment
• Being part of something bigger

seem to have often been forgotten as being 'too obvious' or maybe too idealistic?

Instead, the debate has been on more detailed issues - where there can be debate. The above is boring to state as there is little debate. Who is going to argue, "Peace in Europe is bad for the economy and development, not only is it bad for defence companies, but remember how fast technological development happened during the World Wars. Everyone pulled together and Britain felt truly united. I have heard people argue that we need to get the most out of the environment to undercut the market, but it's not so popular as a real debate. It would also be good to be able to pay our workers less so we can compete on the world stage with the global 'sweat-shops', but again whilst appealing to businesses the argument doesn't wash well with the working-class." There is no debate to be had here, so no debate is printed, so this is all forgotten.

Yes, there are the debatable reasons too:

• Will we be economically stronger out or in?
• Will our borders be more secure out or in?

And basically fundamentally, will we have more money to spend on ourselves if we don't give any to our neighbours and don't let them come and take it from us?

Remainers tend to think the answer to these questions are that we'll be better off in the EU - probably directly, and certainly indirectly: An unstable Europe is going to end up costing more for everyone (except those who have shares in defence companies and live away from the coast), but the arguments go round in circles with all sorts of mis-information and guessing of the unknown.

By the way, did you know:

We have a special status in the EU which means, we never have to join the Euro currency, we can retain full control of our borders (checking everyone coming and going) indefinitely and we are exempt from further European political integration. If we don't like what happens in the future, we can always jump ship at that point, but getting back on board will never be so easy and likely require giving up the special status privileges we currently enjoy. Did you also know that if we vote to remain in the EU then new regulations will come into play to close some of the 'benefits loopholes' that make it unfairly attractive for migrant works from the EU to seek work here.

Finally

In what are some difficult and troubling times, we should not be abandoning our neighbours when our need for each other has never been greater. Indeed, the importance of being strong together has become more necessary on the world stage than ever before.

Who is to gain from the start of the break-up of Europe (and probably the UK too)? The world outside Europe. Not us.

And if you're still reading, here's why the Referendum needs to be redone:

Imagine two kids planning their dream holiday: They each come up with a great holiday - quite different, but both amazing.

Now they're going to present their holiday ideas to their school, and everyone in the school is going to vote on these holidays. The vote will determine next year's school trip.

However, before this presentation occurs, the first kid takes his idea to the school Head. He is told that his holiday is not possible as it stands and that a few adjustments need to be made. After a bit of negotiating he finally has a holiday that is still good, but more importantly has the go-ahead from the Head, so is realistic too!

The school then have the vote with the teachers promising to uphold whatever the vote is. Surprise, surprise, they vote for the 2nd dream holiday that didn't get brought into reality.

By the time the school trip is due to happen, it turns out that the reality of the 2nd holiday is really not that great. The kids say the vote wasn't fair and want to go on the 1st holiday. The teachers say they voted for the 2nd though and the teachers promised to honour the result so that's what must happen.

The referendum was not much different

The 'Remain Deal' had been thrashed out at length in Europe, and whilst not as good as originally hoped, it still had some good benefits and was 100% realistic and pre-agreed. On the other hand, the 'Leave-deal', was just a dream - far from a 'Deal'. A dream that we now know was embellished. Once made into a reality and an actual deal agreed, the enthusiasm has been lost with the dream shown to be just a dream.

The best argument for Brexit now seems to be 'because we voted for it'. It's the top and almost only reason consistently given. But we didn't vote for the real deal actually available. We voted for a dream that didn't exist. Any normal business would have reviewed, got the facts and put it back to the vote once the true deal was known. Actually, a normal business would have sorted what the true deal was before voting in the first place. Now that we know what the leave deal is, suddenly there doesn't seem to be argument for leaving the EU based on the deal we'll actually get. The argument for leaving is now a 'Broken politics, betrayal by not implementing the dream'. Whilst a lot of that might be true (the Government have really got themselves into a mess promising to deliver on something that was unreal and impossible to deliver on), and whilst we want to vote to say 'what a mess', that doesn't mean we have to vote to stick with Brexit-come-what-may. We can protest against the mess and still vote to Remain in the EU now we know what the Leave deal is on the table.

Want to support the 'Remain Campaign'?

Don't give me a donation. Don't click on all the adverts I've not got on this page. Just inform someone else to make another Remain vote, and maybe use this page to help. And don't forget to vote. You have a choice - several parties are clear 'Remain' parties.

Make sure you know which parties support remaining in the EU. The leaflets coming through our door that support remaining in the EU are from Green Party, Liberal Democrats, Vote Change UK. Labour don't appear to be pro-remain, so they're not a bad bet if you're pro Brexit but wish to vote against the mess the current Government have got us into. Whilst I am pro Remain so will not vote for them, at least Labour and Conservative have some sensible positive policies and arguments beyond the campaigns from other parties based on negativity and media grabbing drama and inflammatory argument, so they'll still be ahead of some pro-Brexit parties on my priority list.

Also feel free to take any of the content on this page. Make it appear as your own if you like (certainly if you agree with it). You can probably improve the text - add adverts and make some money even!