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  1. Politics
22 June 2016updated 12 Oct 2023 10:17am

EU referendum: 6 of the most convincing articles on why you should vote Remain

We've looked back at the long weeks of the EU referendum campaign to find the best articles summing up the case for Remain. 

By Julia Rampen

The EU referendum is upon us. The campaign has been colourful, farcical, poisonous and tragic in turn.

The New Statesman is backing a Remain vote, in order to work towards a reformed Europe. But many voters are still on the fence. 

Here are some articles that put the case for staying in the European Union, for everyone from the hard-headed bean counter to the idealistic cosmopolitan:

1. It’s time for leftwing supporters of Brexit to wake up

Michael Chessum

“If Britain comes out on 23 June, a small portion of the left will cheer it on. Some are just on another planet, campaigning in a referendum that exists only in their own heads – in which Brexit will form part of a pushback against austerity. For others the calculation is that, yes, the right will benefit, and yes, migrants and workers will suffer – but it’s worth it in order to offer an abstract protest against the status quo. At best, this logic is wishful thinking.”

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2. I suspect I’m a freak, but I feel emotional about the European Union

Jonn Elledge

“At the moment, however strange or irrational this opinion may sound to those who don’t share it, I don’t quite consider the continent to be foreign. I feel like European history is my history; that what happens in France, or Germany, or Poland, is connected to me in a way that happens in, say, Argentina isn’t. I consider myself European.” 

3. Do we really send the EU £350m a week?

Caroline Crampton

“It might have been Boris Johnson, or Michael Gove, or Chris Grayling – you can’t quite remember. But one thing they kept saying did stick in your mind: apparently, we pay £350m a week to the European Union, and all we get in return is a load of faceless bureaucrats and a bunch of non-bendy bananas.”

4. Europe is not an elite conspiracy against the public

Doreen Lawrence

“For me, co-operation with our partners on the European continent and the restriction of the power of our government is a positive, not a negative. Unrestrained power is a dangerous thing, and we have a system that is already at risk of putting a huge amount of authority in the hands of the state.”

5. Your EU referendum vote could change things forever in Northern Ireland

Stephanie Boland

“Walking through West Belfast last week, I was struck by the roads hung with Union Jacks and 1916 flags (no, not that 1916 – these flags mark the sacrifice of soldiers from the 36th Ulster Division in the Somme), and how many also featured Leave posters in residents’ windows. A few streets away, on the Falls Road, the Irish tricolour and Irish-language murals were joined by signs urging voters to back Remain.”

6. The day after Brexit: what happens if we vote to leave the EU?

Stephen Bush

“It is 10.01pm, 23 June. The polls have just closed. There is consternation in Downing Street that turnout is surprisingly low – well below not only the bookmakers’ prediction of roughly 80 per cent but even the more conservative estimate of a showing similar to the one in the 1975 referendum (65 per cent). It is just 48 per cent, and that has favoured Leave. Britain is out of the European Union.”

 

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Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
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  • Arts and Culture
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  • Facility / Grounds Management and Maintenance
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