(with apologies for mentioning the issue again, but it is rather important)
There are millions of people whose lives will be directly affected by Britain’s EU referendum but who will have no say in it whatsoever. These include some 2.4 million European citizens living in the UK – 79% of them in work – whose immigration status and jobs would be thrown into doubt if Britain chose to leave the EU. Only Cypriots and the Maltese (owing to their membership of the Commonwealth) and the Irish (owing to a special treaty with Ireland) will be able to vote: the rest must simply watch and hope.
Then there are those Britons (about 2.2 million) who have taken advantage of the EU’s principle of free movement to live abroad, the largest number from any member state. Of this group, those who have been away for more than 15 years won’t be able to vote. They’ve no idea what might happen to their jobs and homes (many left because of rising property prices) in the case of Brexit. Nobody at this point knows what the status of these people will be. One assumes that they have kept their British citizenship, but they might not be able to buy a property ever again.
I sympathize with those fed up with immigration and the remorseless change in the culture of England. At the same time, to leave the EU is a huge gamble, one I wouldn’t want to take. But then, I am not allowed to vote, like the 2 million mentioned above, because, although a British citizen, I live two thirds of my life outside the UK. Regardless of the rules I have a personal, financial and emotional interest in the outcome.
If Brexit happens, EU students currently studying in the UK will have to pay the same fees as non-EU international students. While on paper this may seem fair, it would actually be very damaging. A lot of students from the EU face our relatively high costs to study here because they believe the investment will be worth it. They pay more, but get a better education in the English language, and probably a better job at the end of it. If we leave the EU, thousands of EU students may decide that the new massive costs will not be worth it, and reasonably so. This will deprive UK universities of some potentially very talented students that we may be able to persuade to work in the UK once they graduate. It will also result in a less educated Europe. I’m still undecided as to which side to vote for, but it’s definitely worth bearing in mind.