Brexit and EU referendum

The debate, which has degenerated into a slanging match, has essentially become economics vs immigration. In the long term and in the big picture immigration is a secondary issue, inflated by politicians and press who are exploiting residual jingoism. What has been lost is any sense of the greater ideal of the European “family”, based on our shared heritage and future place in the world.
When I first visited America, I realised that I was European – as well as British, English (with a Scottish family), a resident of Stirlingshire. Do you remember at school proudly writing down one’s address as (in my case)

122, Clarence Road,
Windsor,
Berkshire,
England,
Great Britain,
Europe,
the Northern Hemisphere,
the World,
the Universe?

To which level we assign power over us is a matter of informed cultural and political choice. We are governed and regulated by entities ranging from local councils to the UN. Europe is just part of the spectrum, and not as monolithically dominant as the bilious Brexiters spuriously claim. On balance, the legislation passed by Europe compares very favourably with that passed by our national government.

Leaving Europe would be a disaster.