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Where I was

On the subject of the EU referendum...

Despite being on holiday with my family in Devon (and, briefly, in Sue's Cornwall) I couldn't avoid the subject. My family wanted to talk about it. Lots of other people wanted to talk about it too - and, contrary to what some might expect (ahem, some at the BBC), none of them seemed bored to death with the subject - even the one member of my family who's only voted about once in forty years and who won't be voting in this one either, despite being obviously and quite angrily pro-Leave. (Is such interest unusual?)

And, though it's not remotely approaching a poll-worthy sample, I was out-and-out surprised at how pro-Leave they all were...and that's not in any way down to me as (away from the blogosphere) I'm not one for talking politics and didn't even try to persuade any of them. (In fact, curiously, I kept finding myself half-heartedly playing devil's advocate with them given how strongly pro-Leave they were. I've obviously spent too long listening to the BBC).

Some were definitely pro-Leave. Some - as definite as can be - have already sent in their postal votes for Out. And others may say they are still undecided but they had nothing but praise for Andrea, Gisela and Boris and nothing but contempt for Angela, Amber and Nicola on Thursday night. (And me too. Gisela Stuart in particular struck me as an absolute class act)...

...and the ones who have already sent off their postal votes for Leave are young (i.e. the ones meant to be for Remain), and I would have placed a near-certain bet on their voting for Remain. Yes, they felt conflicted about it, but they placed their cross on the postal vote, and off they've gone. 

As much of my extended family falls into the previously-Labour-voting-now-often-UKIP-voting working class (and, I reckon, the others I listened to too), I've been pleased to see - in the few glimpses I've had of it over the last week or so - a fair few BBC reports that haven't denied this intriguing trend. I saw a John Pienaar report on BBC One's News at Six that featured a lot of such people as vox pops, every one of whom was pro-Leave. And Newsnight has been reporting the seemingly ever-widening disconnect between the Labour Party and Labour voters over the issue too. And quite right too.

Before I went on holiday, I tried to work out how my work colleagues would vote by just listening to them. (Laurie Taylor's Thinking Allowed would call the majority of them 'working class'). Two of my friends had completely bought George Osborne's 'Your household will lose �4,300 a year if we leave' scare. They said they couldn't afford to lose that. They intend to vote Remain. (I pointed out it didn't mean what they think it means. Have I changed their minds?). The small-in-number-but-loud-in-voice left-wing post-students at work were initially dismissive of the whole thing but they hate Nigel Farage and the Tories and will vote Remain, duh. Plenty of others, however, are firmly, enthusiastically pro-Leave and seem very firm on the issue. One of them really doesn't like the French. I'd say they are very split but, by my reckoning, tending towards Leave. 

I don't know where this is going. The polls are apparently veering the way my 'polls' are veering. Polls are often wrong. Mine could be wrong. We'll soon know.