John Curtice on the BBC website analyses polling that shows Britain is a “divided nation” on the referendum – with age and occupational background, ethnicity and to a lesser extent gender strongly indicating which way a person in likely to vote in the referendum.
The Leave campaign’s lie that Turkey is going to join the EU anytime soon has been much ventilated in the last few days. A Minister even asserted the UK has no veto on a new member joining. The Prime Minister was robust in saying this is not true. The BBC have more detail.
Academic study has confirmed what most of us already knew, that press coverage on Europe is partial, inaccurate and biased.
The Chancellor has said that Brexit would be a self-inflicted blow to the economy, amounting to a “DIY recession”, reports the Independent. It will mean a “year of recession” is the Telegraph’s angle on the Chancellor’s words.
Matthew D’Ancona argues in the Guardian that if Remain wins, Cameron will have the purge his government of arch-Leavers to have an effective government.
The Bank of Japan says that Brexit is the biggest risk to the world economy.
Major retailers have called for the UK to stay in. In a public letter the leaders of major shops write.
We have had the privilege of leading some of Britain’s largest and most successful retailers. Over the past 20 years, retail has been through a phenomenal transformation and remains one of the most dynamic and innovative industries in the UK.
Consumers have never had such a large range of choice and quality. They can shop 24 hours a day, either in stores or online, at prices more affordable than ever. This has all been achieved with Britain as part of the European Union.
Like the Leave campaigners, we believe Britain is a truly world-class country. But unlike them, we believe an exit could be catastrophic for the consumer recovery on which so much of our economic stability depends.
It is impossible for us to see how there could be an exit without an impact on prices and inflation, the strong relationships we’ve built with our EU supplier partners, and the broader innovation and digital agenda.
You can read the full letter here.
* Antony Hook was #2 on the South East European list in 2014, is the English Party's representative on the Federal Executive and produces this sites EU Referendum Roundup.
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5 Comments
“The Leave campaign’s lie that Turkey is going to join the EU anytime soon”
It’s not accurate to use the word “lie” to describe speculation about the future. None of us has any idea if or when Turkey is going to join the EU.
It may well be the case that Turkey is currently meeting very few of the entry criteria, but the situation can change quickly when there’s a political will. From Wikipedia :-
“In March 2016, the EU assessed that Turkey at the time met 35 of the necessary 72 requirements for free visa travel throughout Europe. In May 2016, this number had risen to 65 out of 72.”
Stuart: Please check what William Hague wrote in the Daily Telegraph, mentioned here before. Please also note that French President Jacques Chirac promised the French people a referendum if Turkey was likely to join and French President Hollande has repeated that to David Cameron during recent negotiations.
Add to that what the incoming Turkish Prime Minister has said about the difference between the reality of Erdogan’s power in Turkey and the constitutional position (which the President before last used to defend when Erdogan was PM).
Tim Farron has an excellent article in the Kent on Sunday 22/5/2016.
Front page coverage Farron: County needs to stay in Liberal Democrats leader writes for KoS on why county should back remain bid.
(More prominence than Maidstone United).
A smiling picture of Tim on page 2. The article is described by the KoS editor as ” … a rare moment of calm, rational campaigning, which for that alone is refreshing. … letters page continues to debate the pros and cons in varying levels of rationality.”
Page 19 is a full page (no adverts) with a prominent Union Jack button and several EU flag buttons. Well researched on Kent issues. Headlined County ‘wins’ if you vote to stay in the EU says Lib Dem leader.
On page 20 a university professor writes ” Television, radio and newspapers are full of coverage of the referendum campaign. But they are tending to focus more on the politicians and the campaigns, such as the antics of Boris Johnson or whether prime minister David Cameron is trying to scare the public into voting to leave.”
Perhaps the PM could be clearer, but we should also note that after Cameron and Osborne did a joint presentation at B&Q in Eastleigh the SNP leader commented on TV that her experience of the Scottish referendum was voters can be turned off by these tactics.
@Richard
With respect, my argument is not based on the probability of Turkey joining. It may well be unlikely; then again it may not. The point is: if I had said to you this time last year “it’s possible Leicester will be the next Premier League champions”, then whatever else you might have called me, you could not fairly have called me a “liar”. We can’t predict the future – calling Leave “liars” for speculating on Turkish entry (an idea which has been given credence by the likes of N Clegg) is just unfair and lowers the tone of the debate.
Stuart 25th May ’16 – 10:58pm
The question was whether Turkey could become a member state of the EU. Pardon my French, but Turkey does not comply with the rules of entry, the ‘acquis communautaire’.
On 26/9/2019 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Chirac died. When his obituaries are published they should confirm that he promised that if a Turkish application to join the EU were to succeed there would be a referendum in France.
I do not know whether subsequent French Presidents have repeated Chirac’s promise, but I have no doubt that the electorate in France will remember.
I am also certain that neither Morecambe nor Scunthorpe nor Stevenage will win the Premier League during the 2019-2020 season. Do you want a bet on that?