‘Bristolians, do the right thing on June 23’

There are now just a matter of days before Bristol, like the rest of the UK, votes on whether or not to stay in the European Union. For many, the choice on how to vote is cut and dried; some, for whom uncontrolled EU immigration poses the biggest risk to the UK, will vote to Leave. However, Bristol is a forward-thinking, green, inclusive city, and for this reason we hope a majority here will vote to Remain. We may agree that there are problems with the EU, just as there are with our own British democratic system. But to risk economic collapse and political destabilisation of the biggest peace project in European history seems a risk just not worth taking.

Bristol is at the forefront of the UK as a hub of creativity and technology; it’s a networked Smart City, is culturally and economically vibrant, and much of our economy here directly depends on Europe. In 2015 it was awarded the title of European Green Capital, and since prior to EU membership Britain was known as ‘The Dirty Man of Europe’ we have the EU to thank directly for cleaner air, cleaner seas, green spaces and wildlife protections that we cannot take for granted – and since historically the UK government has resented and resisted many environmental directives imposed by the EU, we can be certain that once we leave we will not enjoy the same legal protections.

Of course some in Bristol do worry about certain aspects of EU membership; uncontrolled immigration is one, and perceived pressure on public services is another. Cost of membership and a belief that Brussels is fundamentally undemocratic are other key concerns. However, pressure on public services and membership cost are both linked to the economic argument, and all our economic experts -from the Bank of England to the Institute for Fiscal Studies to the London School of Economics – tell us that leaving the EU would be damaging to the UK. And what about undemocracy? The EU is frequently accused of being run by ‘unelected elites’, but what of our own unelected elites? The House of Lords, for instance – and the monarchy? Even parties elected to government in the UK are typically elected with a minority share of the vote, and the Prime Minister isn’t elected by the people at all. That’s why we face getting an unelected Boris Johnson as our PM if we vote Leave.

All of which leaves immigration, the factor which – according to UKIP’s Nigel Farage – is the determining factor in this whole debacle. And unfortunately, he’s right. In Bristol we are fortunate to live and work with people from all over Europe, and count them amongst our valued friends. And whatever reasons may or may not exist for wishing to leave the EU, the fact remains that the Leave campaign has been irrevocably tarnished by nationalism and xenophobia. And that makes for a very worrying prospect. Those of us in the Remain camp are very worried indeed that Leaving the EU would send shockwaves across Europe that would feed into far-right extremism – leading to the kind of division and conflict that in former times pushed us into two world wars. Added to that is the fact that Brexit is being supported by some of the most disreputable and shady characters on the political stage – including the BNP’s Nick Griffin, The Sun newspaper, France’s Marine le Pen and Donald Trump himself – which ought to be enough to put anyone off.

Frankly, to many of us the whole thing seems crazy. It seems crazy not because it’s unthinkable that Britain could stand alone. Of course it could – theoretically, at least. Theoretically we could be like Switzerland. Theoretically we could be like Norway. Theoretically we could be like Never Never Land. Theoretically the possibilities are endless. But are we expected to vote away everything we know on the basis of theoretical fictions? If so, we’re selling ourselves short; if we’re voting for fictions, surely we can come up with a more Utopian vision than that currently being peddled by the Brexiters.

It seems crazy because there is no plan in place for what would happen post-Brexit. It seems crazy because nearly all our experts have advised against it. It seems crazy because… well, because Boris Johnson. But most of all it seems crazy because, for us in Bristol, we believe in bringing people together – not driving them apart. We believe in hope, not fear. We believe in a cleaner, greener, smarter Bristol, and most of all we believe in Bristolians to do the right thing. And the right thing is to vote remain on June 23.

Victoria Anderson is a writer, academic and member of Bristol Green Party. twitter.com/victarious

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