Spectator EU referendum debate

At the end of last month the Spectator magazine hosted an EU referendum debate featuring former Labour leadership contenders Chuka Ummana and Liz Kendall, along with Lib Dem MP and former deputy PM Nick Clegg for the remain side. Whilst MEPs Daniel Hannan(Tory) and Nigel Farage(UKIP), and Labour Eurosceptic MP Kate Hoey batted for the Brexiters.  Andrew Neil was the host.

Even though I am a moderate Brexiter, I definitely agree that Hannan, Farage and Hoey won the debate.  The Remainers kept using fear tactics such as the loss of trade and the loss of social chapter and environment protection policies that came out of the EU. Trade is based on satisfying need, if the EU countries need UK goods and services then those countries will still buy those goods and services regardless. As for the social chapter policies, these can be legislated post-Brexit.

Ummana made the disingenuous statement that the USA and Australia has higher immigration than the UK, this was promptly dealt with by Farage who reminded Chuka that the US and Australia are substantially larger than the UK.

Hannan was the standout debater. Kendall was the best of the Remainers and Clegg managed to make strategy gamers sound articulate(I'm a strategy gamer BTW). Even though Hoey was the weakest of the Brexiters, she grasped the facts better than all of the Remainers put together.

The main problem for the Remain side was that they could not put a positive case for remaining inside the EU.  This is kind of depressing as it should be based on the intellectual argument rather than fear.