Tuesday 23 February 2016

And so it starts ...

It would appear that normal politics, and governing the United Kingdom, will be put on hold to allow the political "elite" to strut their stuff on the stage as they do the bidding of their various masters (big business, the USA, the trade unions, etc.). The end result may well be catastrophic for the British people, and the main problem will be that it may prove impossible for the voters to get a reasoned, impartial argument. We certainly won't get that from the politicians, the BBC, the newspapers and many of the self-appointed experts. And so, for many, the arguments put forth in the tabloid newspapers will sway the uncommitted.

For those expats living abroad, it is even harder to find a balanced argument. But the one thing that may sway decisions is pure and simple self-interest. What's best for me and mine? If the UK decides to leave the EU then our right of residency in Cyprus is not guaranteed. I suspect and hope that we would be okay if the referendum decision led to a BREXIT. But nothing is certain and being forced to return to Britain would not be pleasant.

We have a right to vote in elections and referenda as we were registered to vote in the UK. Ann and I have both registered to vote again, although we shall have to make use of proxy votes as the postal vote papers are only sent out eleven days before an election, and we would never receive and return those papers in time for them to be counted. But vote we will, our voice will be heard ... I wonder how many of the many hundreds of thousands of expats living in the EU will stir themselves from apathy and do the same?

Reading the British newspapers online in the last couple of days has made for interesting reading, and you can see the political bias of the newspaper owners almost headlining the articles. There was a time, even in my lifetime, when you could read and listen to impartial and expert commentary - but sadly no longer. The "migrant fear" card seems high up the agenda as if a BREXIT will miraculously cure these problems overnight. But it will not stop the unprincipled campaigners from using this to sway people's decisions. On the other hand the government will use taxpayers' money to swing the argument in the way they did when there was a Scottish referendum. I despair ... I really do.

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