I am determined to play my part in delivering effective opposition and, ultimately a Labour Government.

Last year I was able to congratulate Sarah Champion, Member of Parliament for Rotherham, on her appointment to Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet as Shadow minister for preventing domestic violence and abuse. I asked her then if she thought of herself as a Westminster politician or a local MP. She told me unequivocally that she was elected by the people of Rotherham to represent the people of Rotherham. As she was one of the 36 MP’s to nominate Corbyn when he initially stood as leader, I asked Ms Champion if she thought he could lead the party into the next election. She said “looking at the major climb down the government has had to do over tax credits, yes, if we keep going in this vein, I believe Jeremy can lead us to the next election and victory”. With this in mind I was rather surprised when she stepped down from the shadow cabinet following what turned out to be a failed coup. She was however one of the first to return, before Corbyn was re-elected. I asked her if her decision to return was based on a belief that Jeremy was the right leader or if it was a determination to give support to the people who desperately need it. She said “I resigned following the PLP's vote of no confidence as I felt the leadership could not continue without a fresh contest. Once this contest was called I felt duty bound to return to my crucial work in supporting victims and survivors of abuse. It was for members to decide who should lead the party and I endorsed no candidate. I am pleased that this issue has now been so conclusively decided and am looking forward to working with Jeremy to hold the Tories to account and deliver a Labour Government”.

After such loyalty I asked Sarah if she was disappointed to not get a more high profile office but she told me “ I was delighted to be appointed to the Shadow Cabinet as shadow Minister for Women and Equalities. I have been a vocal campaigner for equality all my adult life and in particular since my election to Parliament. This government talk the talk on equality but has failed time and time again to deliver. Our country is becoming more divided and less equal. 85% of all Tory cuts have been at the expense of women. One in four young gay people experience homophobic bullying online. There has been a rapid increase in rates of domestic violence and violence against women in the last six years. Disabled people are more than twice as likely to be unemployed as non-disabled people. Labours work on this is more vital now than ever before and I am thrilled to be able to play my part in securing a fairer, more equal society. I am also particularly grateful for the personal support Jeremy has given to me in the last few weeks”.

Now the miserable summer is over and Jeremy Corbyn has been re-elected and has formed a new Shadow cabinet consisting mainly of Northerners and including several women and Trade unionists, I asked Sarah Champion MP if labour could put the summer behind them and raise a serious challenge for power.” I am delighted the disruption of the leadership contest is behind us. Jeremy has a clear mandate to lead the party and it is vital that we unite to take on the Tory Government. The issues we face in the wake of Britain's decision to leave the European Union are too important to allow internal division to prevent proper opposition and scrutiny of the new government. I am determined to play my part in delivering effective opposition and, ultimately a Labour Government. I know my colleagues are committed to do the same” she replied.

Ms Champions constituency in Rotherham was the scene of the shocking child abuse crimes involving hundreds of girls and her role in the shadow cabinet will inevitably lead to a great deal of involvement in those cases . I asked Sarah if South Yorkshire police can ever recover its reputation after systematically failing those girls and the recent revelations about the so called battle of Orgreave, the Rotherham 12 and Hillsborough. She said “South Yorkshire Police is obviously facing a difficult time. There has been serious criticism of its conduct over Orgreave, Hillsborough and more recently over its handling of child sexual exploitation. It is absolutely vital that the people of South Yorkshire can have faith in their Police. The first step to restoring that faith is ensuring that the truth about the force’s past conduct is fully known. That is why I have vocally called for inquiry into events at Orgreave and supported the work of the Hillsborough Independent Panel and the new inquests into the deaths at Hillsbrough”. Since this conversation of course new Home Secretary Amber Rudd has ruled out the possibility of an inquiry in to the events at Orgreave but I am cheered by Sarah Champions determination to do the right thing by her constituents and those who put their faith in a Labour party that will stand up for people like them. She told the Telegraph she was beyond about this. She told them “I am incredibly frustrated for the people who will never see justice, for years research has been done by the Orgreave Truth and Justice committee, and evidence gathered by the IPCC, and this feels like a complete snub for the people of South Yorkshire.

This week I received my election papers that enable me to vote who I would like to lead the Labour party. As a trade unionist I was relieved to have not been banned from the vote like many of my colleagues.  If I had been banned I would not now be faced with the dilemma that I do face. Who should I vote for?

Jeremy Corbyn won the leadership race after Ed Miliband quit following defeat at the last general election. Miliband had been attacked in the media for months leading up to the election and I believe acted with grace and integrity in the face of the very personal attacks he suffered. I mention this because the attacks on Jeremy Corbyn have been much worse.

While there was the occasional muttering of descent from MP’s under Miliband, the majority of his critics were in the media. TV and newspapers regularly lined up to take a shot at him for a variety of reasons, be it his Fathers heritage or the way he ate a bacon sandwich but on the whole rarely were there public assaults from his colleagues.

Corbyn faced criticism almost immediately from the moment he was put on the leadership ballot. Many believed he was put there purely to make a point and had little chance of being elected. He won the contest by a long way. The kind of scrutiny he has faced since has been unprecedented. Comments he made decades ago have been dug out and taken out context – as they would be 20 years later. His private life, his voting record and his beliefs have all been strewn across our papers and social media sights for months. Opposition politicians and business men are queuing up to slate him, not to mention the constant barrage from members of his own party.

He faced a mass walk out as the majority of his shadow cabinet resigned following the brexit defeat and then there was a vote of no confidence from many of his MP’s.

The actions and comments of some of those MPs have absolutely disgusted me. I’m not suggesting they should be loyal to the leader no matter what, after all Corbyn himself has been a habitual rebel. What has disgusted me the most has been the attitudes of many of his fellow Labour MPs towards the very people that elected them. The infighting and offensive remarks on twitter and facebook  and in the papers about Corbyns supporters has been nothing short of appalling. Labour is supposed to be a broad church, supporting and standing up for working people and the poorer people in society, unable to stand up for themselves. There have been sustained criticisms of the movement Momentum, and accusations that the new supporters aren’t real supporters but left wing nutters hell bent on destroying the party. While I’m sure there may be an element of truth in this- some of those supporters will undoubtedly have far left attitudes but there will also be a huge number of them that are simply inspired by Corbyns anti establishment image- it didn’t do Nigel Farage and his UKIP party any harm.

I voted for Corbyn at the last leadership election because I firmly believe that there is an appetite in this country for more left wing, anti austerity politics from the party. I think people are fed up of being punished for the state of our country that they did not cause. Bankers, businessmen and politicians have made this country be a country of haves and have not’s. The likes of Cameron and Farage have done a great job of creating divisions up and down the country with their propaganda pitting rich against poor, English against immigrant, working against lazy black against white. The fact is that not everything is black or white and the choices that people make do not have to be binary choices. I take great exception at been called a raging leftie or even a Corbynista. I am a trade unionist from a working class family that believes in equality and fairness and thinks that those in the position to help the less fortunate should. I’m not a socialist nor do I wear any other label. I just want a kinder politics where the people we elect to represent us do so with respect for each other and those who elected them. I expect that from who ever I vote for within the Labour party, it is essential.

We, the group of people who believe that everyone deserves an education, a roof over their head and rights in the workplace should be stood side by side, fighting those who do not share our beliefs, not those that do. Call it naivety, but I expect those things to be on the agenda of either candidate. I have seen little if any criticism about policy. Apart from those who disagree with Corbyn on Trident and borders, most people actually agree with his policies on traditional Labour values such as wanting to bring our railways back into public ownership and wanting to protect the NHS from privatisation.

My fear is that rather than uniting the party, which ever candidate is successful may lead to deeper splits in the party. The majority of trade unions seem to back Mr Corbyn and as the unions are the biggest financial contributor to the party, it worries me greatly what might happen if as some predict the party does split. People on both sides of the party seem to see this as likely. Some think that if Corbyn wins the MPs who oppose him will split and set up their own group and others believe that if Smith wins the Unions might take their money away and set up their own group. What we need if we are to persuade the electorate is Unity and support for who ever wins but people must put the welfare of the party before their own agendas. 

This time of year, when politicians are on holiday and there’s little going on in the news, I like many others can normally be found eagerly awaiting the return of the football season. I have written my predictions for the coming season for the last few years, usually with spectacular inaccuracy. Last season I correctly tipped Aston Villa would be relegated- me and everyone else in the country I know; I did balance that with predicting Jose’s Chelsea would retain the title though..

This summer we have had the added treat of the Euro’s, meaning only a couple weeks without the beautiful game on TV. Some might say it’s even more difficult to suggest who will be good or bad this year, with little activity in the transfer market and many of our superstars returning late for training after an exhausting summer tournament. At least English players should be fresh.

Middlesbrough fans will be excited for their team's long awaited return to the Premier League along with swifter returns for Hull and Burnley, but I think it will be a long hard season for all three. Aitor Karanka has made a few decent signings during the summer, strengthening his side while Hull manager Steve Bruce quit the club last week in protest at the lack of signings, leaving them managerless with a fortnight before the kick off. Burnley have also been relatively quiet in the markets as well, signing duo Nick Pope and Berg Gudmunsson from Charlton.

The biggest headline transfers have been in the dug outs, with Manchester United taking a gamble on the not as special as he used to be Mourinho, and City going with the talented Pep Guardiola. Guardiola has apparently banned the overweight players from training with the first team until they shed some pounds and is ready to pay £50m for Everton’s John Stones. Everton meanwhile seem to have been linked with almost every player in Europe since nicking Ronald Koeman from Southampton and Leicester’s Steve Walsh as director of football. Veteran keeper Tim Howard has been replaced by former Fulham goalie Maarten Stekelenburg and you can expect Koeman to make some shrewd signings in the coming weeks. Toffee’s fans will have high hopes after Koeman’s appointment but they will be a way off the top 5 this year.

Chelsea possibly have most to prove after last season’s disastrous self-destruction. Former Italy coach, Bruno Conte will be under huge pressure at the Bridge this year with Blues fans demanding some success instantly. Although I tipped them for success last season, I am more reluctant this term and will be surprised if they finish higher than third.

Last year’s shock package and suddenly everyone’s favourite second team, Leicester will bankrupt the bookies if they repeat last season’s miracle. Top half is more realistic for me, as the foxes struggle to hold onto their stars. Liverpool could push on this season as Klopp looks to assert his style on the team.

Arsenal’s reluctance to compete financially with their rivals could see the Gunners miss out again although a top 3 finish should be achievable. London rivals Spurs will need Harry Kane to be much more impressive than his form in the summer if they are to build on last season’s good work.

So here are my tips.

C. Manchester City

2 Manchester United

3 Arsenal

4 Chelsea

5 Liverpool

6 Spurs

7 West Ham

8 Everton

9 Stoke

10 Crystal Palace

11 Southampton

12 Swansea

13 Leicester

14 Watford

15 Bournemouth

16 Middlesbro

17 Burnley

18 Sunderland

19 West Brom

20 Hull

Place your bets !

Those who thought the dark days following the election defeats in 2010 and ’15 were as bad as it gets must be gobsmacked at how wrong they were.

Britain stands on the brink of leaving the EU with a new Prime minister set to negotiate Brexit following the disastrous referendum. It was a referendum that many feel should never have happened and few thought would result in us leaving. The in campaign clearly won the economic argument but failed to successfully respond to some of the outrageous immigration claims made by the out campaign.  Some it seems were completely fooled by claims for example that £350 million would be channelled straight into the NHS, only to see the reality just hours after the votes were counted.

Despite many of the predictions made by the remain campaign being proven; the pound at its lowest point for decades and the property funds being suspended for example, those in favour of leaving assumed these predictions were scare mongering. Cameron quit shortly afterwards in spite of his repeated promises to see it through and several high profile out Tories disappeared quickly too.

This should have given the Labour party  the opportunity to unite and challenge strongly. What followed has left the party in real danger of splitting, which of course would be an absolute disaster.

When Jeremy Corbyn was elected with a massive mandate there was new hope that a change was coming. There was real optimism that a nicer, kinder politics would ensue. In a letter sent to members during her deputy leadership bid, Angela Eagle wrote “I would happily serve under anyone the members choose to be our leader because I respect the wisdom of our members, supporters and affiliates and our party’s process of electing a new leadership team”. She even went so far as to add “talk of coups and remarks about not serving in a shadow cabinet needs to stop”.

Miss Eagle challenged the leadership after a mass exodus from the shadow cabinet. There have been reports for some time that sections of the Labour benches intended to over throw their leader. It is suggested that they intended to challenge him if he lost the Oldham by-election (he didn’t), they then planned a coup if he lost the London Mayoral race (he didn’t) and again if Labour suffered huge losses in local elections (they didn’t). Brexit then was pinned firmly on Corbyn and Hillary Benn started the chain of events by getting himself sacked in the middle of the night. The next day dozens of shadow ministers quit forcing a vote of no confidence which resulted in a massive defeat for the leader. Miss Eagle has since decided to step down from the leadership election, leaving Owen Smith as the sole challenger.

Tom Watson, deputy leader, said in a letter to members when he was chasing the job “I want members and supporters at the heart of an inclusive party.

I will drive culture change through this party from the bottom-up. I want a digital revolution to enhance policy making and improve our campaigns. I want local parties to come up with policy solutions to problems in their own areas. You should have a say in choosing the debates we hold in Westminster on 'opposition days’, for example".

It is claimed that Mr Watson orchestrated the coup to remove Corbyn from the safety of Glastonbury and many of his colleagues have tried to reclaim the party from its members, often being rather rude and derogatory about them and their opinions. Far from nicer, kinder politics the whole fiasco has descended into horrible hate filled slanging matches with neither side willing to back down.

The Labour membership has risen to over 600,000 since the coup began (although it is unclear whether the bulk of those support Corbyn) compared to only around 150,000 members in the Conservative party. What is clear is that many of those 600,000 grass roots members that were promised a say in the future of the party, feel that the political elite have conned them. The party itself actually tried to ban Corbyn from automatically making the ballot for leadership. When that failed the NEC decided to charge those members that originally joined for £3, a fee of £25 to vote in the election. That is not a challenge, it is a mutiny. When the country is crying out for an authentic, decent, fit and proper opposition they have watched a secret ballot fail to stop him defending himself. In spite of the cripplingly inhibitive fee, 180,000 Labour supporters have applied to pay it.  The trade unions appear to still support the leader and he is on the ballot (for now- legal challenge pending) but can he hang on? While the PLP have treated the electorate with utter contempt, it does appear that there are stories of bullying and poor leadership from Corbyn. Surely, in a democratic system we can be proud of, Corbyn must be allowed to defend his leadership. If the MPs are allowed to over-ride the wishes of the members and pick their own leader, there is little point in being a member. Of course, the counter argument to that is that we elect our MPs to make decisions on our behalf. 
What has left the members mystified is the lack of any real evidence to support Corbyns failure. He has undoubtedly increased the membership massively and in recent days the party coffers have swelled as well. He has enjoyed successes in opposition, forcing u-turns on several government policies. He has changed the style of debate in parliament and has refused to throw away his beliefs in the name of achieving power. MP's have lined up to tell us that he can't win an election but all the evidence I have just mentioned above suggests the opposite.
Politicians are expected to present a decent argument and persuade the public to think their way; now is their chance. I had hoped that candidates other than the unimpressive Miss Eagle would decide to stand and that at least one of them was a credible person from the left of the party. Andy Burnham would make an authentic candidate but seems determined to be Mayor of Manchester. Eagle crash landed and while Owen Smith has some interesting ideas and seems relatively charming, I'm still not sure he can get enough votes to oust Corbyn.

Teresa May says she will not rush a general election, suggesting she will wait until 2020. This must be music to the ears of the Labour MPs as going to the country now would be an absolute massacre.

Those men and women we elected as our members of parliament have a responsibility to form a credible argument that can get us elected to government. With Britain now free from the chains that the EU held over employment law and human rights, a Labour government is the only safety net available for many. There are many shared interests that Labour can and should unite on. Obviously, the majority of Labour supporters agree that we cannot be simply a party of protest or principle but it is vital that it does not throw away its principles entirely to gain that power.
The political tricks of parliamentary procedure and the dastardly antics of the NEC will undoubtedly leave a nasty taste in the mouth of many Labour members and supporters. The charge to the left from members is not a coincidence the parliamentary party can ignore. I wrote after the general election defeat that the mood among normal people was shifting. There is real anger at what they see as the establishment, which really means the rich and powerful (MPs included). Whether Jeremy Corbyn wins another victory or not that shift isn't going to stop. Owen Smith does not have the authenticity that a life long rebel and protestor such as Corbyn has, so whichever one wins I see another messy and costly leadership election coming before the general election. I and many others have said it before and will continue to say that one of the main reasons for these problems is the lack of opportunity in the party for normal working class people.
The disharmony within the party has reached such a level that branch meetings have been cancelled amid safety fears and MPs have stopped replying to their constituents, apparently.  UKIP, the Greens, and the Lib Dems must all be terribly excited at the number of potential new members they can target if those 600,000 activists turn their back on the party.

There is now just 10 days to go until the EU referendum decides the fate of the UK with the polls neck and neck, but it is other battles in Europe that are stealing all the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Today, Russia were given a suspended disqualification from the FIFA European Championships following disgraceful scenes after England’s opening game in the tournament.

Despite facing expulsion from the competition and a 150euro fine, there is little contrition from the Russians. Even their striker, Artem  Dzyuba who plays for Zenit St. Petersburg, accused the British media of having the impression that England supporters are angels who just behave themselves. He added “you have to be objective, there is 50-50 in every conflict. I don’t see that Russia’s fans are the only ones at fault”.

Dzyuba has a point, there were some ugly scenes involving English fans before the game reminiscent of days gone by when so called English fans brought shame on us in the 70’s and 80’s.

 While it appears the incidents involving the English before the game were isolated the reputation of English football is once again being dragged through the mud. More worrying though, is the apparent pride some Russian commentators seem to have in the skills and viciousness of their fans. Violent clashes during Russian domestic games are fairly commonplace and footage of the riots regularly end up on social media sites. In fairness to the Russian football authorities, their Union have expressed regret about the behaviour of their fans, accepting that the suspended expulsion is right however other senior officials are quoted as calling the hooligans “real men”.

One Russian MP, Igor Lebedev said “I don’t see anything terrible about fans fighting, quite the opposite- the guys did well. Keep it up”. He also claimed that the lads had defended the honour of their country. A Russian fan from Moskow, said proudly “this shows who is most important among hooligans”. He went as far as to say that Russian thugs are younger, fitter and more sober than their English counterparts.

Andrei Malosalov, co-founder of the Russian fans union said “now many people are boxers or into martial arts, and Russian hooligans often follow a very healthy way of life, avoiding alcohol which used to be part of the subculture”. Astonishingly he told the BBC that the students have outgrown their masters.

It appears that the Russian’s involved see this mindless violence as a sport. It is not a sport. It is cowardice and stupid and there is no place for it in football stadia or in society. FIFA must adopt a zero tolerance approach, not only expelling Russia (and any other country )but coming down heavily on domestic clubs whose supporters riot. Forcing clubs to play behind closed doors would be a way to ensure safety of the players and would also hit the pockets of the clubs until the regulating bodies take the matter seriously.

It would be wrong to suggest that only Russia are responsible for the terrifying scenes this week, but with the 2018 World Cup being held in Russia it is particularly important that the behaviour is stamped out quickly. If FIFA wants to drag its own reputation out of the gutter following recent corruption charges, it must be much more transparent and responsible when deciding who hosts the tournament and should consider suitability of grounds, facilities, security and fans rather than simply taking account of who can fill the fattest brown envelope. With security in France supposedly being stepped up amid terrorist atrocities around the world, it is extremely alarming that Russian fans were able to take fireworks into the ground for the England game. It would be unwise to level all the criticism at French authorities though as they have limited resources and much of their time and attention was spent dealing with the hooligans. Would those proud violent men who think they defended the honour of their country be as proud if it meant that a bomb was able to pass through security or a machine gun toting maniac entered the packed ground? It is a football tournament for football fans. The fans around the world should be allowed to enjoy the spectacle in peace and safety. Anyone who doesn’t want to watch the football should stay home and anyone found guilty of violence at a match should be banned for life as well as face a spell in prison. We do not want to go back to the bad old days where real supporters are scared to take their kids to games.

"The Tories do not have a track record of prioritising the people of the North"

With only weeks to go until the EU referendum much of the debate still revolves around either the economy or immigration. I wanted to know what the effect would be not only on the country but on me personally as a man living in in Yorkshire. I asked Linda McAvan, MEP for the area whether she thought that a university city such as Sheffield, who’s economy depends largely on our tens of thousands of students,  would be less attractive to foreign students from both inside and outside the EU should we decide to leave.

She says “Visa free travel and the right to live, work and study in another EU country makes studying in the UK significantly easier for EU students.  Students, including UK students, can participate in study abroad programmes like Erasmus, Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs, and Erasmus + all of which receive maintenance to help cover living costs.  Currently, EU students are treated as ‘home students’ meaning they pay the same fees as their UK contemporaries.  Brexit could change the status of EU/ European Economic Area (EEA) students to that of international students. Students from non EU/ EEA countries pay significantly higher to attend university in the UK.   

 EU membership has also provided access to considerable funding streams such as the Horizon 2020 fund which provides the UK with £8.5bn for research and development. Much of this money goes into University research programmes.  Access to such funding assists in the hiring of the best and most skilled academics from across the European Union. This collectively has a substantial impact on the quality of teaching and placement opportunities for students. Better learning opportunities enhance the student experience and contribute to the quality of degree programmes.   

EU students contribute £3.7bn to the UK economy. If fewer EU students started coming to the UK to study due to visa and finance issues such as the rising cost of fees, student numbers will reduce, this will have a knock on consequence on staffing levels as Universities will have less money. Less resources will be put into degrees and universities would have difficulty attracting the best staff to teach courses.  This would leave the UK trying to compete for EU and international students.

It is worth pointing out that in the event of a Brexit the UK could join the EEA just like Norway or Switzerland which would give us access to the EU single market. This however would require the UK to agree to the free movement of people, pay a contribution to the EU budget, and require adherence to EU rules and regulations without consultation or having a seat at the negotiating table”.

My second question was whether the North of England will suffer more than the South in the event of an out vote.

She told me “Economic differences already exist between the North and the South. Tory policies in the 80s and 90’s had a devastating economic impact on areas like South Yorkshire. EU investment through the programmes such as Objective 1&2, the European Regional Development Fund, and European Structural Fund put money back into the region. If Brexit happens, it will do so under a conservative government. The Tories do not have a track record of prioritising the people of the North”.

I asked Linda if she thought immigration was as big an issue as we are led to believe or is the real issue that we don’t have enough hospitals, schools or houses being built making immigrants simply an easy target. She said “The policies of the current government and the previous coalition government did not do enough to support the development of schools, hospitals and houses. The Affordable Housing Bill put forward by the Tories has done nothing to alleviate the housing crisis. In fact, home ownership has fallen in the past 6 years and rents have sky rocketed. Other EU countries have much higher EU migration.  Norway, for example, has higher EU migration than the UK in terms of proportion of their population. Unfortunately, Immigrants are always an easy target but lack of coherent policies from the government is at the root of these issues.

My conclusion from talking to Linda and previously her colleague Richard Corbett, is that locally, the people of cities like Sheffield will undoubtedly be worse off if we leave the EU. There are many cities in the UK that are very similar to Sheffield that would suffer also. I’m convinced that what the two MEPs are telling me is at least credible and almost certainly true. I am yet to hear an argument from the brexiteers that has credibility or evidence.

Only a vote to remain will allow us any certainty and stability.

"The intentions of the right wing Conservative Party are rarely good" says Brexit campaigner.

The EU referendum debate has been relentless but largely inconclusive. There have even been debates about who should be allowed to take part in the debate, one fact which we can probably all draw our own conclusions about.

While the official campaign seems to have been raging for months, on 20^th March I published an interview with Yorkshire & Humber MEP and in supporter, Richard Corbett.

I have been trying since to find somebody willing or able to articulate the argument for leaving the European Union. Matt, a freelance journalist and politics student took up the chalice.

I asked him exactly the same set of questions; I started with the issue of sovereignty, with many claiming that 75% of our laws are passed by in Brussels. Matt conceded that 75% was ambitious but said that the true figure was nearer to 65%(according to business for Britain), depending on whether you are discussing laws impacted by or written by Europe. He admitted the latter figure would be considerably lower. The figure according to Mr Corbett was 13.2%.

Next I asked Matt if the EU was nothing more than an expensive Gentleman’s club, costing the UK taxpayer a fortune. Again, he admitted that the spinning that can be done here is spectacular. He claims that last year we paid £18billion, minus £5 billion that we immediately received back in a rebate. He says the EU then spent a further £4billion here on projects, giving a total cost of £9billion, which he says is still an awful lot. Mr Corbett disputed this, saying that EU membership is worth £3000 per family in Britain.
Some economists are predicting 2 years of uncertainty in the stock markets leading to a potential crash in the event of a Brexit but Matt thinks there will be some sort of crash whether we leave or not. He told me that the uncertainty depends on whether Cameron resigns or not (in the event of an out vote), adding that formalising Brexit will take a while anyway so the uncertainty and crash are inevitable.

Will Brexit mean British football club’s expulsion from the Champion’s League, I asked. Matt thinks that this is ridiculous myth, created by the in campaign. He says that none of the major clubs or any player has corroborated this.

I asked him next if Boris Johnson’s decision to back the out campaign was merely a bid for the Tory leadership. Despite his intention to vote out, he agrees that “Boris is just looking after Boris, not the people of this country”.

When asked if both big and small businesses alike will suffer if we vote to leave he is uncertain, “as there are leaders of business backing both Remain and leave campaigns”. Both sides he says are being extremely hyperbolic. He has no qualms though about the fact that EU will still be more than happy to do business with us though, because we are the sixth biggest economy in the world.

I asked the freelancer, who has featured in the Independent, if the main intention of the Tory out campaigners was to abolish worker’s rights. “The intentions of the right wing Conservative Party are rarely good” he said. ”but that is absolutely no argument to vote to remain. I’m a socialist – and believe in full employment rights and social justice for all, but if your main argument to vote to remain is to oppose the will of the British electorate because you don’t like what they’ve decided then -it sets a really horrible precedent- that is no reason to prop up an undemocratic institution just because you lost an argument. Instead, they should focus on winning the arguments and winning hearts and minds over for additional employment rights and human rights at the national level.

So can we have an open and honest fact based debate on the referendum? The Nottingham University politics student, hopes so, but the moment he said, “it doesn’t look like it. Both of the designated campaigns are being fronted by vacuous political operators who make a living deceiving the public. Hopefully, this will change soon” he dreams.