EU Referendum – my final word: twenty-one simple reasons why we should vote to Remain

This damnable, unnecessary, divisive and corrosive referendum campaign finally staggers to its climax tomorrow. I’ve written more about it than I intended to. My voice is but a tiny whisper, largely inaudible in the midst of the hysterics, the clamour and the lies that have destroyed reputations and, most likely, more than a few careers.

I’m a citizen too, and I will have my say. But no more long paragraphs – there are enough of them out there already. Just twenty-one short sentences that summarise why I think we should Remain:

1. Because we are the grit in the EU’s oyster – the devil needs an advocate
2. Because now is not the time – we should keep our powder dry for a real crisis
3. Because the choice is not either/or – we can continue to prosper within the EU
4. Because we’re not the only member in favour of reform – it’s just a matter of timing
5. Because we’re not in control of our own destiny, and never have been
6. Because we’re a country of migrants, and always have been
7. Because if we ditch EU regulations, we’ll create our own, which could be just as burdensome
8. Because migrants bring new thinking and new energy
9. Because migrants are net contributors, not bloodsuckers
10. Because our health service depends on migrants
11. Because migration is not responsible for the pressure on our schools and health service – our governments are
12. Because we have an exaggerated sense of our own importance
13. Because patriotism is not incompatible with EU membership – ask the Germans and the French
14. Because our unelected bureaucrats are no more competent than the EU’s – and there are many more of them
15. Because our politicians are no smarter than those in any other EU nation
16. Because our business people are no more or less effective than their colleagues in the rest of the EU
17. Because the Daily Mail, The Daily Express, The Sun, UKIP and the British National Party say we should leave
18. Because there are more important things than the shape of bananas
19. Because divorce is expensive, destructive and emotionally damaging
20. Because nobody in their right mind parachutes off a cliff blindfolded
21. Because we should be focusing on what we can do for our neighbours, not just what they can do for us (with apologies to JFK).

That’s it. To my fellow citizens I urge: go out and vote Remain tomorrow. And if you’re thinking of voting Leave, I can only say we’re not the country we were – get over it. Nobody has convinced me over the past three months that we should do anything but Remain.