Please don't forget to vote of stay on the fence on the 23rd of June!  You can still vote even if you are on holiday over that period, as long as you have registered to vote by the 7th of June.

Remember, No Vote, No Say, No Choice! It really is that simple.  

If you forget to vote or simply cannot be bothered, unless you have a really good excuse, you have absolutely no right to pass judgement, good or bad, on whatever happens after the votes have been counted and the decision made!

Ignore the scare tactics and vote in what you believe in!

This is something I think will affect many people that come to the ballet boxes on judgment day.  They will reach for their pen, review the text and boxes in front of them, get nervous and cross off what they think is the safest option, while not necessarily the option they believe is the right one.

It is our chance, our human right and opportunity to vote for what we stand for and what we truly believe is the right way forward.  What is so hard to understand is that for which we are voting for.  There does not appear to be a clear plan to what happens next!

We seem to have different opinions to why we think we should stay in or leave Europe.  For me personally I have arguments for and against.  Do I think we waste a lot of money staying in Europe, yes.  Do I think we also have a lot of security and freedom of movement by staying in, yes we do.  However if we leave, will we still be part of the European Economic Agreement in some way, I am not sure?  Can I see security being worse off if we leave?  Not so sure about that one either. I don't think Europe are suddenly going to stop sharing vital important information with us just because we are outside of the EU.

If we leave the EU, are we will still part of the EEA?

As I understand it, we will still be part in some way of the EEA if we leave the EU, so how does that affect things?  The European Economic Area (EEA), as this agreement is linked to free movement within the EU of trade and persons.

What have we learned from the EU?

I am sure we have received a lot of benefits from the EU, both financial and social.  However, I do often wonder what we have learned from the other countries in the EU.  I have lived and worked in a number of countries across Europe and it still puzzles me that we can have the fifth largest economy in the world, but run one of the most expensive and broken public transport systems in Europe!

I used to find living in a city in Germany or the Netherlands actually quite easy and stress free and I didn't even need a car to get around!  

Take the Netherlands as an example.  They have cities and towns that are heavily populated, yet have working tram, train and bus networks which allow efficient freedom of movement inside the towns and cities.  When new housing developments are built there are provisions put in place for an integrated public transport system from the early stages, not something that can only begin when developers decide to release the funds.

Their bike lanes are a wonderful example how the old form of transport can work side by side with the car, bus and tram.  They have a nationalised train system that links towns and cities very efficiently so that travelling around the country becomes quite easy and cost effective!

This efficiency of transportation creates a less stressful environment and a more social place to live.  The towns and cities in the evenings are filled with a much diverse demographic than the UK and I am convinced this is largely down to public transportation availability.

Why can the UK not seem to learn from countries like the Netherlands instead of just looking inward and at short term gains!  That's how it seems to look from the outside anyway.  Since we don't seem to want to learn from other EU countries, why keep paying so much to stay in?  Some answer would be nice.

Are the campaigners missing a trick?

I don't think I am the only one either!  There has been so much conflicting political dagger throwing at each other that I feel a little lost.

I think both campaigns are missing a trick.  They seem to both be focusing on the negatives of each other.  The problem with this is that it could actually have a negative effect on the voter!  Let me explain....

If you put a lot of pressure on somebody to do something, there is a likely hood that they will do the opposite in retaliation.  You see it a lot with parents and their children.  They will try hard to get them to do something only to be disappointed when the child takes the opposite path on purpose.

If the campaigners were to focus the majority of their efforts into the positives of staying in or going out and provide us with a clear plan of what will happen next, we as a voter would have a better idea on which way to follow and feel more free to make our own minds instead of being told what to do!

Whichever way we decide to vote on the 23rd, it will be an extremely interesting result and I am just hoping that England and Wales are still in the cup to have something else to talk about!

There will be a short and light discussion about the results with local businesses on Friday 24th June at our monthly network event The Very Early Lunch Club Business Event - June - come along if you would like to be involved.  Our guest speaker this month is Jim Doyle, who will be giving a talk on Speaking with Confidence, something a lot of us struggle with day to day.