The point of a referendum is to let the people decide. So telling people how to vote is not only anti-democratic; it is also generally counterproductive. I will not do that. Some argue that we should listen to the experts and just do as we are "telt". Many of those who want us to leave the EU cite their desire to maintain our sovereignty, and the right to determine our own laws and who should make them. It also seems that everyone on earth in a position of power is telling us how misguided it would be to vote to leave, and our own Prime Minister is leading these efforts.

The IMF, the World Bank and central bankers have been vocal with their warnings of the dreadful consequences of an EU exit and world leaders have bombarded us with reasons not to leave. President Obama has said we will be sent to the back of the queue for a trade agreement with the United States. The EU has no trade agreements with America, China, Japan or India, so this threat is vacuous. It is hard to imagine, given that Britain is such a special and useful ally of the US and so important to Europe, that Brexit would not be accommodated and its economic impact minimised.

Suggesting a decision to leave the EU would cause a war, destroy all our freedoms, damage the environment and leave us lawless, devoid of rights and at the mercy of extremism, is so overblown that it exposes the lack of arguments for Britain remaining in the failing EU – other than fear of change. Indeed, all across the EU most people are keen to end its rule. Despite being told that EU laws result from consultation and are approved by national governments, they know that this is a mere formality, that resistance is futile, and that votes against the pre-determined EU agenda are ignored or circumvented.

The man in the street resents being dictated to by a remote elite that thinks it knows best and believes that money and taxes are the answer to everything, and that votes can be bought or won by fear. Many British people wonder what this elite will do when faced by a real challenge from the EU. Will it be sold down the river? Imagine if Winston Churchill had said that the economic cost of opposing Hitler was too high because it would mean a war and European markets would be lost and we would face years of blood, sweat and tears. The notion that we would not stand up for our freedom is too shameful to contemplate. The trust we once had in our leaders has gone as we sense that career politicians and bureaucrats keep us in the dark about their plans.

I cannot predict the future but I make no secret of my personal preference. I believe big government is bad, bigger government is worse and distant government by bureaucrats in Brussels and Strasbourg has proved to be an abject failure. The EU is protectionist and not about free trade. The internal common market does not include many financial products and services critical to Britain’s economy. Its agricultural policy consumes 40 per cent of its budget. Its auditors have been unable to sign off its accounts for more than 20 years. Estimates of fraud and waste are astronomical and, even with the best will in the world, this is unavoidable in an unaccountable and undemocratic organisation of such vast scale. Angela Merkel’s unilateral decision to invite untold millions with no connection or affinity to Europe to settle in its midst means the migrant issue looms large. The decision to fine EU countries that do not take their share of migrants, and the offer made to Turkey of billions of euros in bribes and visa-free access to the EU, have caused widespread alarm about who is running the EU and to what end, when the last thing the EU needs is more job or welfare seeking migrants.

The euro has caused untold misery, and growth in the eurozone has been non-existent for the past 10 years. Unemployment, especially youth unemployment, is unacceptably high. The EU’s share of world trade has halved and falling; it is buried in debt; its energy and green policies are ruinous; its foreign policy is a mess; and its claim that it and soft power, rather than Nato, have sustained peace is ludicrous. Arguably the EU has been at least partly responsible for war in the Balkans and Ukraine, creating a confrontation with Russia and putting the Baltic States at jeopardy. Despite initially having the dubious goal of being a counterbalance to American power, the EU has relied increasingly on America for its military protection. EU states have allowed their defence capabilities to deteriorate. Apart from Britain, most spend far less than the agreed target of two per cent of GDP on defence.

The more threats they hear, the more people want to leave. I hope we do and I hope we can make a fresh start promptly. I want us to stand alone and not to compromise any aspect of our traditions and freedoms in our future dealings with the EU. I trust the common people of this island far more than the naysayer elites who support the failing EU. We need a clean break to sort out our affairs, agree a strategy to ensure that we can prosper, and are able to choose free markets and the open seas. We sing: “Britons never, never, never shall be slaves”. This is the time to prove it.

Ivor Tiefenbrun is a Scottish manufacturer. He writes in a personal capacity.