With under two weeks to go before the referendum it is now clear that the English would like to leave the EU. With the help of the Scots and Northern Irish, a majority may decide they can’t afford to. The markets are showing signs of panic. A massive run on the pound might finally frighten voters who have so far brushed aside the massed warnings and alarms of the world order, global leaders and their advisors. Who cannot delight in witnessing such a collective refusal to be cowed, as a people defy elite instructions - even if media moguls who profit from divide and rule are egging them on?
Unlike those who predict that Brexit is now a certainty, I think the English have yet to decide with their heads what their hands will do on the ballot paper on 23 June. They may simply be making the government sweat before relenting in their judgment. But, in its heart, England has already made its choice. It prefers out.
The superficial reason for this is that in his heart, the prime minister also wants out. His official Remain campaign has not produced a good reason why we should want to be members of the EU apart from not being able to afford to leave – which is a way of agreeing that if we could afford to do so, we should. Cameron and Osborne say they would not trash the economy to cut down immigration from the EU. They do not say why free movement is a wonderful thing, especially if you are young and broke. Just a small example of the absence of positivity.
