Stop Shouting

Here in the UK we have a referendum coming up. This is about what could well be the single most important question we will face as a nation during any of our lifetimes, whether to stay in the EU or not.

Now personally I have one or two issues with the whole issue of referenda, I rather feel that they are a way of politicians ducking the important, difficult and possibly unpopular questions that we actually appoint them to make. Regardless of that we are having the referendum, and we are well into the campaign.  I will admit I do have an opinion, but that is not important, well not now anyway. I have been musing and wondering how come there are so many people who haven't fully thought out the question, or who are still undecided.

A leading thinker on the EU, and Boris Johnson

On one side of the argument we the OECD, the Bank of England, the IMF, the current and three previous Prime Ministers, the last three Chancellors of the Exchequer, all of the living Presidents and Secretaries of State of the US; on the other side we have Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage.

Most of the arguments I have so far heard have revolved around economics, will we be better off in or out, of course nobody knows, all we can know for certain is that the future will be more uncertain out than in, but there has been a lot of assertions on both sides.

Very little of the discussion has revolved around what sort of a world and country we want to live in? where our rights and freedoms come from? how we live in harmony with our neighbours? What there has been is discussion of immigration, and much of that has been tinged with zenophobia.

Yesterday I was listening to the BBC's Women's Hour and they interviewed Harriet Harman and Gisela Stuart, I finally felt that here we were having a serious, sensible discussion on the merits of the arguments.   Harriet Harman put her finger on the why s many women have still to make up their minds, so far the debate has just been men in grey suits shouting at each other.

Please stop shouting, after all this is important.