The result of the vote is likely to have little or no impact on me personally, so why do I come across as passionate that we should stay in?  Because I care deeply about the wellbeing and spiritual health of all in our nation.

The current suffering of the poorest in our society has absolutely nothing to do with the EU, but everything to do with the UK government’s austerity program and with the culture of inequality that is peddled by the press and protected by the wealthy.  It is within our nation’s power to deal with this today – irrespective of whether we are in or out of the EU.  The ‘out’ campaign put the blame for the current difficulties on immigration and ‘Jonny Foreigner’.  This creates anger, tribalism and hate in the hearts of those who listen to their message.  I do not want our nation to move further in that direction.

The claims from both sides that Britain will be better off ‘in’ or ‘out’ are all speculation. Nobody knows how other nations will respond, what the markets will do, or any of the other predictions.  Of course, the ‘out’ campaign can claim that things will be better than they are today, and in response all that the ‘in’ campaign can say is that they will be worse.  In the present austerity regime, the ‘out’ offers an end to the pain, in the same way as the National Lottery offers a way out of financial troubles – and you don’t even have to buy a ticket, just tick the right box.  And in the same way that the lottery takes money from the poorest with the promise of wealth, the out campaign is appealing to the poorest with the promise of a wonderful future.  This is manipulative, and I will not support a group of people who use such tactics.

We are currently governed by a party that was elected by 25% of the nation (we call it democracy), composed of the privileged class.  Without hindrance from the EU they are introducing policies that do not consider the personal pain of the poor.  The most extreme members of this group are the ones that want us to leave the EU.  I ask why, and the answer is simple – they don’t want the EU to constrain their policies with any social justice laws and regulations.  They want to be unfettered in pursuing their personal agendas.  I do not want to see these people given completely free reign in this county.

And finally, the whole question is causing people to ask ‘what is best for me’, whereas I would rather see people to ask ‘what can I do to help my neighbour’.  I want the leaders of our nation to encourage us to be more moral in our thinking, and yet the in/out debate is a perfect example of our politicians appealing to the basest emotions that we have.  So I advocate: “Vote to stay in Europe, stop listening to the rantings on the politicians, and get on with loving and caring for your neighbour, near and far”.