Written by Julia Meighan, Chief Executive, VMA GROUP

We are all aware that the vote on the referendum is precariously perched on a cliff edge. In the end results will be largely influenced by the communications strategy and how effective the messaging was on both sides. As a business owner and chief executive of a marketing and communications recruitment consultancy, recruiting candidates for and from across UK, EMEA and Asia-Pacific, I will be voting to stay in Europe.

Those who have been advising on the ‘remain campaign’ engaging with the public, seem to have learned nothing of what we know to be true in terms of best practice communications. Trust in government, power and senior business figures has been in decline for years and instead we have come to know that people trust peers, experts and recognised spokespersons as being more authentic and without hidden agendas. Yet the stories from small business owners and European workers based here to give their side of the story seem to have been scarce? Instead they keep rolling out the 'big guns' assuming that people will be swayed by their power and position and forgetting that many of these individuals actually carry little weight or influence with the UK electorate

We have had the lowest unemployment in the UK for years as well as free movement of labour, so the increase in migration hasn’t had an adverse impact? We have built our shops, run our doctors surgeries, our hospitals, run farms and sold many goods and services on the back of migrant workers, yet the message is simply not getting across by ordinary people for the benefit of ordinary people. It is crucial for the ‘remain campaign’ communications leaders to explain what uncertainty does to confidence in any walk of life and let people speak up.

It is essential for today’s society to understand what happens when you walk away from the terms you have agreed with your biggest customer that accounts for half of all of your takings. If they really knew what the risks were, let’s face it, it will affect us all not only now but also in the years ahead and for future generations.

The incendiary nature of these comments are rife both online and offline and it's all been branded as 'scaremongering' because not enough ordinary people are being used in this shambles of a campaign.

I welcome your comments !

Email: JMeighan@vmagroup.com