Poll: The EU Referendum: How Will You Vote? (April Poll)

[Tunney]

What does everyone think the turnout for the EU referendum will be? The last general election was 66.1% but the last European election turnout was only 35.6%.

I'm guessing around 50%.

 

[StriderX]

Id hazard it will be around 62-64%, slightly down the GE but important enough that people give a ****.

 

[platypus]

Well thats why I asked if you agree with striking, or the right to strike or not. As spectacularly low turnouts in the past have led to strikes that disrupt the majority.

If yes, do you think it fair that such a low majority should be able to affect such a wider percentage of people?

 

[Freakbro]

It's been explained many times, by having VISA free travel the authorities no longer have the ability to vet the VISA applicants. It removes a major level of security, it adds ease by which miscreants can move freely around. Many, like myself, see it as a very bad and short sighted move, done to further the patently dying Liberal experiment that was the EU, before the experiment was truly tested and found wanting.

Ok, fair enough

So what about all the countries that already have Visa free access to the EU, are you against those as well, should it be revoked?

I wonder if "totally not russian" russian spies will use this as an easy entrance into the EU?

LOL

 

[bayo000]

It's been explained many times, by having VISA free travel the authorities no longer have the ability to vet the VISA applicants. It removes a major level of security, it adds ease by which miscreants can move freely around. Many, like myself, see it as a very bad and short sighted move, done to further the patently dying Liberal experiment that was the EU, before the experiment was truly tested and found wanting.

No, they will still have their passport scanned at the entry to first Schengen zone country they are entering, just like anyone else coming from outside schengen zone, be it at the airport or road/ rail crossing.
Do you really think that getting Visa is much different? They will do the same thing, look up the person on the system and either grant visa or not.

 

[Tefal]

No one can predict everything. We do, however, know that that can't be new members/treaty change/etc without the consent of every government, we know what our trading relationship with the EU will be like

Tell that to the dutch

 

[Tefal]

No, they will still have their passport scanned at the entry to first Schengen zone country they are entering, just like anyone else coming from outside schengen zone, be it at the airport or road/ rail crossing.
Do you really think that getting Visa is much different? They will do the same thing, look up the person on the system and either grant visa or not.

Out of curiosity before did they have to get a visa for every country or was it just one that coveres the whole eu

 

[Chris Wilson]

Ok, fair enough

So what about all the countries that already have Visa free access to the EU, are you against those as well, should it be revoked?

In hindsight, yes, but they have it now. That's no reason to give out more exceptions though. I would make travel documentation far more intrusive and questioning.

 

[BennyC]

Forgive me if this has already been asked before 100 times...

I am already registered to vote and have received my Postal Voting slip for the May 5th Election. Do I need to do any additional registration to vote in the EU Referendum?

 

[bayo000]

Out of curiosity before did they have to get a visa for every country or was it just one that coveres the whole eu

There are no EU wide visa rules in place as far as I know. However I imagine schengen zone countries have a common policy that has nothing to do with UK (just to make it clear ).

 

[Cosimo]

Stuff this in your Brexit pipe and smoke it...

Just arrived and I can see it persuading to people stay in the remain camp.

 

[Trifid]

I've just been talking to a couple of mates at work over lunch. The one who is very anti EU is still anti EU, the one who was siding with 'in' has decided he is going to vote 'out', the one who was very pro EU has gone to sit on the fence but falling to the out side. And myself who was always on the fence, previously falling on the 'out' side is now falling on the 'in' (previously I always avoided voting in these polls but voted 'in' a couple of weeks back after avoiding any discussion on the EU for a while.)

 

[platypus]

Stuff this in your Brexit pipe and smoke it...

Just arrived and I can see it persuading to people stay in the remain camp.

Do you think there's a real chance it will, as someone else put it earlier, not also just turn some people to vote leave because its the Government and screw them types tellin' us what to do?

 

[Mr Jack]

What does everyone think the turnout for the EU referendum will be? The last general election was 66.1% but the last European election turnout was only 35.6%.

I'm guessing around 50%.

National referenda usually have high turnouts, I would expect 70-80%. A higher turnout is likely to favour Remain, while a lower turnout is likely to favour Leave.

Edit: Actually, checking the numbers this seems not to be true. However, I do still think we'll see a high turnout as this seems to be an issue that has a wide interest in the result.

 

[Mr Jack]

Do you think there's a real chance it will, as someone else put it earlier, not also just turn some people to vote leave because its the Government and screw them types tellin' us what to do?

Probably a few, but I think most people who might react strongly negatively to it will already be in the Leave camp.

 

[Tosno]

Out of curiosity before did they have to get a visa for every country or was it just one that coveres the whole eu

Not sure if it is the same for Turkey, but when my wife got a visa to travel to Finland, it was just a usual schengen visa, once validated by travelling to Finland, she had 6 months unlimited travel to the EU, even countries not fully in schengen yet like Cyprus.

 

[[TW]Fox]

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/133da9c0-f7f7-11e5-803c-d27c7117d132.html#axzz45W5dZqrr

An interesting article exploring the claims made by both Leave and Remain from what attempts to be a neutral position.

 

[Mulder]

Do you really expect 2.5 million people (out of an electorate of 12.8m) voting in a non-binding referendum to determine the policy of a block of over 500m people? That's not democracy; it's tyranny of a tiny minority.

The irony is that had it gone the other way, the Express could just as easily reported "18% of Dutch people override the wishes of the UK in undemocratic EU!".

I don't think you can count 2.5m people as a "tiny majority", especially given the Dutch were a founding EU member. This was the majority of those that voted voicing their concern at how the EU is run. Remember as well that about one-third of MEPs are now Eurosceptic.

And even if we ignore the Dutch vote (as the EU wants to do...), what about the 2005 French and Dutch No votes in 2005 on the constitutional treaty? These were essentially ignored; the document resurfaced two years later as the Treaty of Lisbon.

What about Ireland and Denmark no votes that were just ignored, with a second referendum called after symbolic dealmaking in Brussels back rooms?

What about the people of Greece voting against austerity and getting nothing?

The EU is not democratic, it will seek to push its goals no matter what the will of the people.

 

[[TW]Fox]

Not sure if it is the same for Turkey, but when my wife got a visa to travel to Finland, it was just a usual schengen visa, once validated by travelling to Finland, she had 6 months unlimited travel to the EU, even countries not fully in schengen yet like Cyprus.

Almost but not quite - a Schengen visa does not allow access to countries who have secured a Visa-opt-out, which is the UK and Ireland.

 

[Mr Jack]

I don't think you can count 2.5m people as a "tiny majority", especially given the Dutch were a founding EU member. This was the majority of those that voted voicing their concern at how the EU is run.

It's 0.5% of the population of the EU. Remember as well that while you keep talking about the EU; the Dutch government are the ones who are choosing not to act on the result of the non-binding referendum. They could, in principle, derail this.

remember as well that about one-third of MEPs are now Eurosceptic.

Where are you getting that figure from? The Euroskeptic blocks in the EU are ECR (Tory), EFDD (UKIP) and EFN (French Front National) who together have 149 MEPs: just under 20% of the total.

And even if we ignore the Dutch vote (as the EU wants to do...), what about the 2005 French and Dutch No votes in 2005 on the constitutional treaty? These were essentially ignored; the document resurfaced two years later as the Treaty of Lisbon.

I'm really not sure how you expect this to work. The EU required changes to be made because it hadn't been updated for the new membership. Should it carry on being dysfunctional because people in one or two member states rejected the treaty? How does that make sense? How is rejecting rules that introduce greater democratic accountability being more democratic? There were renegotiations and after those renegotiations the changed treaty was accepted.

What about Ireland and Denmark no votes that were just ignored, with a second referendum called after symbolic dealmaking in Brussels back rooms?

And passed at the second referendum. Why do you think that should be ignored? Why do you think that you're a better judge of whether the changes made met the objections of the people of Denmark and Ireland than the people who actually voted on them?

What about the people of Greece voting against austerity and getting nothing?

Why do you expect Germany, France, etc. to be bound by a vote in Greece. This is not how democracy works.

The EU is not democratic, it will seek to push its goals no matter what the will of the people.

The EU's decisions are made either by its democratically elected parliament, by appointees of the democratically elected parliaments of its member states or by the national governments democratically elected by each member state. The EU is undemocratic exactly to the degree that it is accountable to member states rather than directly elected MEPs. You apparently think that the actions of each member state should overrule the democratically expressed will of everyone else, how does that make it more democratic?