Not for one milisecond which is why I won't be wasting even five minutes of my day bothering to vote on Thursday. It'll make for some good late evening/through the night tele though for insomniacs, might even be better than Big Brother, love a bit of blue on blue.

Out of curiosity, what do you think will prevent the UK leaving the EU if that's the result of the referendum?

The UK Parliament, which would have to repeal the 1972 act? It's a brave MP who stands up after a referendum and says they are going to vote against the democratic decision of the people.

The EU itself? It's not that long since Cameron went - with the threat of a potential referendum in the background - to try and renegotiate the UK's position. The rest of the EU are hardly likely to be favourable to a further renegotiation. The UK is primarily a service economy, it's not like we manufacture and export goods that Europe cannot live without. An exit may not be what the rest of Europe wants, but I don't see it volunteering to worse its own position to stop one happening.

Once the UK is out, it's out. Forget the rubbish being spouted by Johnson et al about renegotiating to get back in. It would take years and require the agreement of every other member state, who by then would have realised that the world went on and trade wheels kept turning without the UK.

The most dangerous thing anyone can do on Thursday is vote "leave" as some sort of protest vote, without actually considering what it means. Once the damage is done, it's done.

Parliament is sovereign and is full of Politicians - the majority of which have declared for Britain to remain in the EU. The referendum is advisory so one way or another I expect the effective outcome will be to carry on as if nothing happened irrespective of the 'will of the people.'

That would be interesting to see. But would not surprise me. There are people on this thread who think that large portions of the working classes are too stupid to be allowed a referendum so you can only imagine what Westminster MP's think, let alone our EU overlords.

I don't think class has been mentioned on this thread at all. The notion that emotive referendums aren't the best way to govern is perfectly capable of bridging any class divide.

When I vote on Thursday I know my vote will count towards the result, which is more than can be said for when I voted in our general election, and I was hardly alone in that.
Nobody is talking about using referendums to "govern" that's rediculous any you know it, but for this single decision it is perfectly legitimate, and democratic to go to the people. And all decisions are emotive unless you are a machine.

Like most other intelligent people, they are probably dismayed and bemused at the apparent inability of a large section of the population to comprehend pretty straightforward information and deal with basic concepts of logic and reason.

You make my point much better than I ever could.

You're implying that people making backwards, hypocritical arguments, ignoring facts, dismissing expert opinion, dismissing reasoned arguments out of hand and generally spewing a whole heap of anti-intellectual, ill-informed bull are not deserving of scorn?

This isn't all the Leave voters BTW, just most of them.

Two really key positive arguments, set aside from the clear economics, and also set aside from the 'fear' and the 'speculation' from overwhelming numbers of 'experts' that seems to not make a blind bit of difference to some, in fact is, in a through the looking glass world, cited as further evidence to vote leave. Anyway:

-40 years of membership of the single market has led to a more outward-looking, more prosperous British nation. There is *nothing* to suggest this will not continue.

-The European Union's founding purpose was to ensure the absence of war. Throughout its existence, member states of the EU have never taken up arms against each other - a remarkable achievement of unity given European history. I'm from the first generation of my family that hasn't fought in a major European war, and I don't want to be from the last.

Keep going. You're doing great.

I knew there were some smart guys on here (more so than me) ....but my perceptions have been surpassed. A far better intelligent knowledgeable informed interesting and worthwhile arguments (on both sides) than anything I have heard or seen elsewhere in any of the media. Makes me feel proud to be a Southstander ...

Will leaving the EU limit the supply of midgets? Or cake?

Oh sod off