How will you vote in the EU referendum?

Yes I agree Badenkate I think France would literally "take our hands off" for Nissan's Sunderland plant and it's 1st, 2nd and 3rd tier suppliers. One thing for certain though is that productivity would be down massively and Nissan chiefs know this.

If we were to leave the EU felice then the UK would no longer be seen as "the promised land" as we would be free to make our own rules and regulations with regards to immigrants and benefits etc.

I remember my first vote was on joining the EU (different name then) It has changed so much over the years. It provides a gravy train for many has been UK and Europe MP's.
I did not vote to join then and I do not want to stay in now, starting with the above reasons and could provide a list as long as your arm to keep out

Actually gillybob if we use Switzerland as an example, they had to agree to taking Eastern European workers the same as the rest of the EU. I'm not sure about welfare payments. We got child allowance for our children, but that might have been because of the old EFTA agreements.

Felice, You've made a lot of valid points. I am also disabled and would benefit from living in Southern Europe in a warmer less damp climate.

Although in our circumstances it isn't an option to move abroad, its obvious the government are cutting back on benefits. For Britain to Leave the EU would leave British people living within the EU rather vulnerable as you describe.

I voted to go into what was then the Common Market and I will be voting to stay in the EU. We are no longer able to deal with other countries in a high handed manner. We've got to keep ourselves at the top table through negotiating with the EU on workable and fair policies that are carried out in every country, making sure refugees and migrants have some financial help in order to get a foot on the housing and work ladder.

Out
To be masters of our own destiny
However on radio 4 it was suggested that if England (my home) votes to leave EU and Scotland (my birth country) votes to stay in, it would probably mean another Referendum as to whether or not Scotland becomes an independent country

Like Lavande I have made a point of seeking out information to help me decide how to vote and I strongly recommend that everyone else does too.

This is a huge decision for each of us to make and we need a weigh up the pros and cons of staying in or leaving. At the moment I think too many people are focusing on the pros or the cons and not reaching a balanced decision.

This article is another interesting read for those of you who think being in the EU restricts our trading prospects -

Do the UK's European ties damage its prosperity?

The benefits rules are very different in many EU countries, for instance, I get a basic, less than the living wage, payment every month, there is no Housing benefit, free health care, bus passes, no tax credit for families who are unable to live within their means.
When I had to apply for Social Security before getting invalidity benefit a Social worker came to my house and had a very thorough look around, I did not but if I had anything of value, i.e. flat screen TV, Jewellry, if fact anything which could be sold it was obligatory that it was sold before any claim was processed.
There is not the same system of Council or Social housing here, most people rent privately and it is your own resposibility to find accomodation within your means. No top ups if you do not pay your bills, in fact I had to show my bank statements every month to prove I had paid my bills.
There really is not a 'Gravy Train' running through this city.
Some of the highest rates of taxes are paid by workers here.
The parasites were weeded out a while ago and some people who arrive here expecting to earn silly money often get a rude awakening.
I could go on but I doubt it would make much difference just hope someone has a nice spare room available for me.

Leave. The current crisis over refugees etc shows how united we are and reinforces my long-held thoughts that we should be outside the EU.

Ununited I meant!!!!!

There is a long thread on this subject on Mumsnet. What is surprising is that a year ago the majority were in favour of staying, now that has changed significantly to leave.
I was surprised considering the age of most of the posters, growing up in the EU is all they have known. What was pleasing was how knowledgable they are.

There's also an interesting thread on MN about what will happen to EU nationals living in the UK. Many have been here for a long time, but never applied for citizenship because of the cost (at least £1000) and who own their house, work here, have children, etc.

We've been in the EU for 40 years and a generation of people like me don't really know what a UK outside the EU was like. I do know that if we leave things will never be like they were before 1976.

If didn't qualify for a British passport I would be worried and if I lived in another EU country, I would be worried. I don't think there will be mass repatriation, but there will always be unintended consequences of any new legislation.

There's over 2 million ex-pats living in the EU at the moment. I wonder how many would feel so unsettled/unable to work because of change in employment law that they would return to the UK. Where would they live? How would the NHS/ social services/education system cope? Certainly if you read their forums and blogs, they're feeling very vulnerable and have no idea how they're going to be affected.

Stay in.

WilmaknicKersFit. " don't really know what a uk outside the EU was like.
We traded with the world. There's a lot of it out there. The EU is a small part of it.

I think I shall vote to leave. I'm still weighing up the pros and cons for my family and for the country as a whole.

I voted not to join in the first vote and I think I still feel the same. There are so many things wrong with it that at the moment they outweigh the good.

That has only just occurred to me - that probably the majority of voters will not know what a GB outside the EU is, although it was, of course, the European Economic Community when we first joined in 1973 and it has evolved over the years - and our membership application was blocked twice by Charles de Gaulle!

Try and remember it's not the EU as it is now that you will be voting for. Germany took one million+ migrants last year. The EU is expecting another one million + this year. Something has to give.

Blocked by Charles de Gaulle because he hated us.

I have never understood why

Jalima. It might have something to do with defending his country in 2 world wars. Just my opinion.

I'll be voting to stay in, Felice.
Both my sons have partners from European countries. They get enough flak as it is, coming here, taking our jobs.
I agree with gillybob about Nissan. A relative used to work for Ford, opening and closing factories in various European countries. If the UK left Europe, the market would be better and easier for Nissan if its factory was in Europe.
Like gillybob says, it's not just the people who work for Nissan, it's all their suppliers as well.
I also know that the latest factory for Nestle in York was built so it could easily be dismantled and erected elsewhere. Very few of Nestle's products are manufactured in the UK.

I am undecided, although I lean towards staying in because I think we will lose all the health and safety and environmental protections and employment and consumer rights if we leave.

On the other hand, I don't like the threats about what will happen if we leave - and the fact that many of them are coming from the sorts of huge commercial organisations that I don't particularly trust anyway. And I think there should be much stronger oversight of where the money is spent.

There will still be migrants, desperate to flee war zones and terrible conditions, even if we leave the EU. I don't think we should turn our backs on them just because we are free to do so.

I think with the increasing lack of investment in education, science, health and housing, we are becoming a de-skilled, unhealthy and demoralised nation and might be quite vulnerable out there on our own. Or maybe we will become even more dependent on the City of London and the finance sector (perhaps that is why many hedge funds say they want to leave the EU) - not, I think, a particularly safe or ethical option or one that will benefit all parts of the UK.

petra the EU is 28 countries. That's hardly a small part of the world. Did you read the information about on the link I posted earlier at 14.57? You might learn something about the effect on our trading prospects from being in the EU. Although of course, you can choose to ignore the information.

Also our top export destinations in 2014 were
USA: US$64.2 billion (12.6% of total UK exports)
Germany: $52 billion (10.2%)
Netherlands: $36.7 billion (7.2%)
Switzerland: $35.1 billion (6.9%)
France: $32.5 billion (6.4%)
Ireland: $29.3 billion (5.7%)
China: $26.2 billion (5.1%)
Belgium: $20.8 billion (4.1%)
Spain: $14.5 billion (2.8%)
Italy: $14.4 billion (2.8%)

That's over 70% of our exports. Do you think the EU countries will trade with us in the same way as they do now?

I'm leaving. Now, if possible.

I didnt want to join all those years ago and I cant wait to leave, why on earth did we have WW1 & 2 if all we do is subjugate our country to an undemocratic collection of bureaucrats who seem incapable of making decisions & I fear for my grandchildren as we seem to be importing all the woes of the Middle East into our midst.