A short rant about Wetherspoons and The EU Referendum

I thought I would jump on the EU referendum wagon today, for a short rant, not because I am hugely political, but because I saw this outside Wetherspoons on my way to work:

Wertherspoons EU referendum Brexit

Let’s take a minute shall we?

“Only Wetherspoon can gather the facts…”

Now I’m no expert, but instinctively, this doesn’t feel true. Surely there are people other than Wetherspoon, better qualified, more experienced perhaps, who might be in a slightly better position to gather the facts about the EU referendum for me? 

In response, someone on Twitter shared this picture with me, which I hadn’t seen, but is also very funny. This one is true. 

 

You could argue I suppose that when it comes down to it, Wetherspoon may be as well informed as anyone else who will be voting, and this is the bit that really annoys me – why is this even a referendum? Most of us, myself included, are just too stupid to be able to make an informed decision about this. This is an example of why we have an elected government – we have picked people to find out about stuff, and make these sort of decisions for us. The fact that we, the ignorant masses, have been put in charge of this terrifies me. It feels like a parent letting a toddler gorge themselves on Haribo, knowing they are going to be sick – someone needs to step in.

We can’t be trusted.

The majority of us will be voting based on fear, or misunderstanding, or because the newspaper we read tells us to, or because a celebrity we admire has said they are voting in a particular way. I have a economics degree, and yet I will be voting to stay in mainly because Boris Johnson wants out, and I feel like I have to disagree with everything he stands for on some kind of principle, the very foundations of which I’m not entirely sure about.

We are not informed enough to make these sorts of choices.

Have the government not taken a moment to look around them and realise this? We go out in flip flops the minute the sun pokes through the clouds, we eat ourselves to the point of obesity just because sugar is fun, we watch X Factor year after year even though it’s ridiculous, we eat in Wetherspoons for heaven’s sake.

We are not clever enough for this shit. 

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19 Comments

  1. 15 June, 2016 / 2:33 pm

    Woop woop, I’m blog-famous! Seriously though, I agree with everything you have put here, what do any of us know really.

    I’m in for the following reason(s), To leave would be incredibly short sighted, while the way the EU, and especially its leadership, is set up currently is a bit crap, we have no chance of changing it from the outside. The world is shrinking, while patriotism and national identity are a fine things, we are ultimately citizens of the world, and as such we should be looking to tackle more issues, big and small on a global level, it really is the way forward.

  2. 15 June, 2016 / 2:41 pm

    Perhaps that is the point of letting the public vote, responsibility so taken out of the hands of those that were voted into government, and they think the decision sucks according to someone either way. With a referendum made decision, they don’t have to take the blame, either way, but guarantee they will take the success as “we support the people”.

  3. 15 June, 2016 / 5:26 pm

    ‘ I have a economics degree, and yet I will be voting to stay in mainly because Boris Johnson wants out, and I feel like I have to disagree with everything he stands for on some kind of principle, the very foundations of which I’m not entirely sure about.’ This made me laugh out loud. I am with you – (I actually went to my eldest son for advi ce on who to choose! he affirmed me on staying in. Just look at who is fronting the outs – Farage, Johnson and Trump. I could weep and probably will if they win.

  4. 15 June, 2016 / 10:47 pm

    Haha this made me laugh – because it’s really true. We know so little about economics and policies and immigration, how are we possibly allowed to make this decision. I guess you could say the same about electing representatives for Government – we know very little about them yet we have to chose them to lead our country. We need to be a bit better at informing ourselves, I think. It’s hard to know where to get true information from though, eh?

  5. Sarah-Jane
    16 June, 2016 / 10:00 am

    I have to kind of disagree. I would be really happy to leave this stuff to our elected government, if it was a government I felt I could trust and that would make a decision based on what is best for the majority of the country, not just them and their over-privileged, over-confident, self-important friends.

    What does worry me is that the people who are going to make the biggest effort to turn up at the polls are the ones that are the most passionate and vehement about their cause – therefore the furthest left and furthest right of the argument. Those who think that leaving will mean Britain will have 100ft [feet, definitely not meters!] walls around it’s perimeters and we won’t have any more nasty foreigners taking all of our jobs and using up our healthcare. That’s the bit that frightens me.

    Those of us that haven’t got a clearly defined agenda about what we think will happen either way will be lethargic about voting because we will be voting for the lesser of the evils, not something we truly believe in. With so little factual information to go on, it’s incredibly hard to decide which way to go and I am swayed on a daily basis depending on who is the last person I listened to. Vague in the extreme.

  6. Lucie
    16 June, 2016 / 11:02 am

    You are so right – I have been trying to make this point when in discussion – we elect MPs to represent our views. They get paid for it FFS. They *should* have the info to make educated decisions on our behalf. Makes you wonder what they are doing to earn their privileges

  7. 16 June, 2016 / 12:42 pm

    The recent polls are really starting to worry me. You’re right, this sort of decision should never have been handed over to the public, it’s too important! That Wetherspoons stunt is just one of many examples why. xx

  8. 17 June, 2016 / 8:01 am

    Totally agree. Government is just passing the buck so that when it all goes horribly wrong they can blame us. It’s just too horrendous to think about. I’m genuinely scared for our future.

  9. 17 June, 2016 / 10:00 am

    Oh God. I am just going round and round in circles and changing my mind on a daily basis. I think the one humungous sticking point for lots of people is immigration. Why we can’t adopt a similar policy to Australia and the US I’m not sure. On the one hand I worry about leaving because the Husband’s clients are already talking about relocating head offices if there’s a Brexit and on the other I worry that staying in will just see our NHS and Education system swamped.

    • 21 June, 2016 / 2:37 pm

      We can have a system like Australia…. We just havent!

      And on NHS being swamped, if you google it enough you’ll find stats that show there a lot more migrants working in the NHS than using it. A lot of senior NHS people say we rely on immigration to keep the NHS running (partly because govt cut doctor/nurse training places…. Oh and then tried to cut junior doctors pay etc!)

      I’ve blogged about this if you’re interested in reading more!

  10. 17 June, 2016 / 1:39 pm

    I’ve been saying exactly this to my OH for a few weeks now. I for one will be going with the celebs I like and admire, and listening to my kids who voted at school to Remain. How on earth can we make this decision, it’s ludicrous. Great post Jo.

  11. Hannah
    17 June, 2016 / 8:34 pm

    Um doesn’t Boris Johnson just want a shot at being the PM – and up until his big announcement he was as far as everyone who knows him knew not a Brexiteer?

  12. 17 June, 2016 / 9:27 pm

    I don’t think any of us are qualified to make this decision but neither are the numnuts who are advising us. There are experts on both sides, yet they all have sound arguments for their positions even though they disagree.

    It’s funny I too have a BA in Economics like you. I too detest Boris Johnson and see through all of his Tom Foolery yet every muscle in my body says leave. I find it odd that I agree with him, but I reconcile that by telling myself that he is probably just positioning himself in that category to pretend to the public we have a choice. If it suits the establishment for us to remain, then that is probably his real position. It’s all semantics.

    What I find really interesting is what will they do if Brexit wins? WILL they really let us leave??? And if they do, it will take like 2 years…………

    Very interesting though and I love this post. That tweet i s CLASSIC!!!

    Liska @NewMumOnline

  13. 20 June, 2016 / 2:05 pm

    Well said! It’s a topic that keeps coming up in all circles and not one person I’ve spoken to has helped me come to a decision. It’s one thing choosing an annoying Prime Minister that we have to listen to yap on for four years, at least there is always an end in sight. But leaving it down to use mere common folk to decide on something as huge as this just seems a little ludicrous. Whatever the outcome I still fear for the state of this country and the future of it for our children. Thankfully there is a Whetherspoons on every corner to drown our sorrows and eat crappy, but cheap, food! ha!

  14. Shelley
    20 June, 2016 / 9:53 pm

    Funny and very true! I have been saying for years that politics and economics should be compulsory at school, even only as modules of something else. I firmly believe that we hand the keys to a car, to people who don’t know about driving, when we give the masses the vote. This whole referendum is irresponsible, to say the least. I have spent a good bit of time trying to understand the economics and policy involved but most people vote with emotion and gut. This kind of voting effectively hands our previous democratic vote to The Sun reader. The entire thing has shocked and scared me. Ultimately, we have moved on much as a nation.

  15. 20 June, 2016 / 10:03 pm

    I love this post! You are so true. I must admit that I giggled when I saw your picture, The Wetherspoons knows what is best hahaha. Its owner is massively against EU, I saw it in the Brexit movie. He is just talking for his own business, as many other public people involved in the debate…unfortunately.
    You are so right to say that people are going to vote out of fear. The truth is nobody is 100% sure what will be the consequences, if we are in or out, both the same. Thank you for a fab post.

  16. 21 June, 2016 / 2:31 pm

    Funny post esp the ridiculous Wetherspoon stuff!
    I do think you’re doing us a dis-service by saying we’re too stupid/I’ll-informed to make a decision…. I think it’s just more that the nature of this vote is there are very few facts, and lots of speculation… Esp on the leave side who don’t seem to have any concrete plans but who are promising us the moon on the stick!
    And that’s why I’m voting remain! (blogged about it if you want to read it!) xx

  17. 21 June, 2016 / 2:41 pm

    Oh I forgot to say, the ironic thing is we have to leave it to the politicians anyway…. IF we vote leave (hope not) the MPs all have to vote to agree to it anyway!

  18. 21 June, 2016 / 3:11 pm

    Laughed out loud at the Boris Johnson thing. I agree. So many people I know are just voting on gut instinct. Its so hard to make an informed choice with both sides exaggerating things wildly. Frankly I’ve found the mud slinging on both sides awful and cant wait for it all to be over!

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