© Matthew Buck_Hack_cartoons

There are only ten days to go in the prolonged campaign about the UK’s membership of the European Union.

I’ve been a remainer for a long time for both practical economic and emotional reasons. I’ve found the campaign depressing for its negativity and focus on fear – both being sides guilty.

Intellectually, I understand that this behaviour is about motivating voters with the strongest emotion known to humans – fight or flight.

I think we should stay in the European Union to fight through negotiation for our interests.

The attempted manipulation of behaviour through psychology isn’t unusual in elections and referenda and I recommend a very good read here about the particular challenges of referenda and ‘direct democracy’.

As a country, we will all have to take what we get on June 24th.

The cartoon above owes something to this – and the lack of any sane plan for leave that I can see or hear.

This – not stupid but ignorant – is also worth a read. The legacy of years of poor public information (and outright lies – thanks Boris) may lead to a disastrous outcome, in my view.