So You Got To Go And Text It / Should I Remain Or Should I Brexit?

On Thursday, the people of the United Kingdom will vote in a referendum on whether to stay in the European Union or to leave.

I haven't really followed it closely, and I don't have real strong opinions either way. I've kind of instinctively supported the "Remain" side because:

• I generally support people working together rather than walking away because they can't get along.
• All the stupid people are supporting "Leave"

Of course, the latter is a silly reason to support something; just because the stupid, childish, and intellectually-lazy like something doesn't make it bad. I started to realize this when I saw that John Cleese is in favour of leaving. Sure, he's no political expert, and despite being a geek, I'm not a Monty Python fanboy who takes his word as gospel. But he does seem to be fairly thoughtful and intelligent. And in the same way that I don't trust the stupid, I do tend to trust the funny.

So I thought I'd look up what other famous Britons have said on the issue. I know, I may seem like the last person to make a serious decision based on the word of celebrities, but I'm treating this as an experiment to see if I can get a feel for the issue based just on the kind of people supporting it.  Here's a small sample

Stay

David Cameron (Prime Minister)
Tim Berners-Lee (creator of the World Wide Web)
Billy Bragg (singer)
Simon Cowell
Jeremy Clarkson (former Top Gear host)
Bob Geldoff
Eric Idle
Ian McKellen
JK Rowling
Emma Thompson
Stephen Hawking
Richard Branson
Alex Kapranos (singer, Franz Ferdinand)
Benedict Cumberbatch
Eddie Izzard
Helena Bonham Carter
John LeCarre
Jude Law
Keira Knightly
Philip Pullman (writer, His Dark Materials)
Richard Curtis (screenwriter, Mr. Bean, Four Weddings and a Funeral)
John Hurt
Derek Jacobi
Patrick Stewart
Steve Coogan (comic actor, Philomena, 24 Hour Party People)
Peter Higgs (of the famous boson)
Arsene Wenger (longtime Arsenal manager)
Danny Boyle (director, Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire)
Daniel Craig
Daisy Ridley (Rey from The Force Awakens)
Idris Elba
Chiwetel Ejiofor (actor, 12 Years a Slave)
Lily Allen (singer)
John Major (former Prime Minister)
Gary Lineker (former soccer player)
Chris Martin (singer, Coldplay)
John Oliver (comedian, Last Week Tonight; here's his take on a Brexit)
Florence Welch (of, "and the Machine" fame)
Alt J (music group)
Peter Gabriel
Elton John
David and Victoria Beckham

Leave

Boris Johnson (former London mayor)
Bernie Ecclestone (Formula 1 CEO)
Rupert Murdoch (media tycoon)
Julian Assange (Wikileaks founder)
Michael Caine
John Cleese
Joan Collins
Roger Daltrey (singer, The Who)
Bruce Dickinson (singer, Iron Maiden)
Peter Hitchens (journalist, brother of the late Christopher)
Elizabeth Hurley
Right Said Fred
Irvine Welsh (writer, Trainspotting)
Milo Yiannopoulos (controversial blogger)
Sol Campbell (soccer player)
James Dyson (of vacuum cleaner fame)
Julian Fellows (Downtown Abbey creator)
Ian Botham (former cricket star)

And here is Wikipedia's even more comprehensive list. So here's my reaction to the lists:

• Really? Morrissey doesn't have an opinion on this?
• I wonder if Cleese and Idle have clashed on this, and will they sell tickets?
• There's a surprising mix on both sides.  Both have their side of intellectuals, and both the lovable and hatable. 
• Though there are old and young on both sides, the Leave side seems to be older on average.

In my still poorly-informed and ultimately irrelevant opinion, I'd still stick to the remain side.