Brexit could wipe a fifth off the value of the pound

Personally I am fed up off seeing all the scaremongering bullshit that is about, "Leave the EU to save the NHS" give me a break !!! I think this in/out vote is probably the biggest decision the British people will ever have to make and the majority off them are totally un-educated (I include myself) in the forthcoming perils that a wrong vote could bring on.

IMHO the EU does not need Great Britain, but we need the EU.

It's certainly going to be interesting. To be honest, I have no idea which side of the argument to believe.

I feel that economically, the UK would probably do better to stay within the EU. However that would be at a cost of say erosion of sovereignty and the concerns about benefits, public services, migration and so and and so on.

There is also an argument to leave - but I'm sure that if the UK did leave, it would probably have short term costs. I currently work with some French clients, for example. Goodness knows what would happen there.

I think that is very likely to happen. I do not wish to see it.

Regardless of which side of the argument you support, remain or leave, I think you'll agree that what we are witnessing is a complete travesty and total affront to democracy. The Cameron-led Remain campaign is all being paid for by the tax-payer but not so the Leave campaign. Furthermore, Cameron and the Cabinet Secretary have forbidden civil servants from advising or in any way assisting the Leave campaign but have been instructed to provide all assistance to the Remain campaign. By sheer force of publicly-funded propaganda, the Remain campaign theoretically can not lose, no matter how many lies it tells in the process.

I suggest that there will be a massive rift in public opinion by the time June 24th dawns but that rift won't be down to the pros and cons of remaining in the EU but the way in which the campaigns have been fought and the total one-sidedness of it all which goes against the British public's sense of fair play.

The whole thing is a legal mess. Not only may the referendum result not be binding on the government but Cameron's so-called "deal" isn't legally binding on the MEPs who will have to enable special legislation and certainly not on the European Court of Justice whose judges will almost certainly rule against Britain using its "brake". The Remain camp keep banging-on about existing treaties having to be changed even though this was specifically ruled-out by Juncker, Schultz and Tusk before Cameron started his negotiations, during them and after they were concluded.

I understand the risk but I'm not so sure. I've mentioned in another thread that one of Sturgeon's predecessors as SNP leader believes that the Scotland is just as divided on the "Europe" question as is England and Wales with at least a third of SNP supporters wishing to leave the EU.

Sturgeon talks-up a possible further Scottish independence referendum because that is exactly what she seeks. She speaks with forked-tongue when she claims she wants the UK to remain within the EU. However, even if Scotland is given a further referendum on independence and even if it votes to leave the UK, there's a strong chance it will be "punished" by EU members facing separatist problems of their own, including Spain and Belgium. And there's the 'small' matter about the Scottish economy and the loss of the Westminster milch-cow. No, I think the issue of Scottish independence will remain dormant for at least a generation.

There is a lot of talk on which side of the argument to believe, I can offer one fact that none of them have mentioned, "nobody really has any idea what will happen if we leave the EU," because this will be a first. Its like life in general, we spend a lot of time worrying about things that will never happen.

One thing I can say regarding exiting the EU, we will at the very least have more control over our own destiny without having to go cap in hand to 28 different countries, a large proportion of which should never have been allowed to join the EU in the first place.

I think not. We will still have to deal with those 28 countries, negotiating collectively as the EU, whilst we will have lost any power to influence what goes on inside the EU. Ask any Norwegian.

Well Andrew, is that the same Norway that has the highest standard of living in the world, not doing too badly are they?

They invested their oil revenue very wisely, brilliant country, they have got so many things right.

Factualy incorrect and a good example of the disinformation happening right now Cameron (as you know Im not a fan) said quiet rightly that the Government has a view ,its not neutral and Government Ministers while being free personally to campaign out are not free to use their departments to help them nor their Civil Servants

As I said, ask a Norwegian - they stayed "OUT" because of their oil and gas, but the kroner has gone from NoK 5 to the US$1 to NoK9 to the S$1 in the past year, and they find that in practice they have to comply with EU regulations without influencing them.

I have several Norwegian friends - a lifetime in merchant shipping almost guarantees one some friends in Greece and in Norway - and this is what they tell me.

Ask a Norwegian?

We Norwegians are happy, rich and free outside the EU << - Link

Worth reading Andrew.

Look at the date of the article, Dave. When it was written Norway was still an oil economy. The Kroner has fallen in value by almost 80% since then.

This has had the effect of making Norwegians poorer, of course, but much more important it has had the effect of making Norway far more dependent on trade with the EU, so the "re-negotiation of the EEA" is not on the cars now.

Against the Peso the pound isn't dying quite so badly as I personally imagined. Not good. But not as bad as it might have been.
Let's wait a while and see what transpires.

Market forecasts tend to be like weather forecasts, not very accurate

I've never been one for believing everything I read

I'm more of a believe everything I can see kind of chap.