IN four weeks voters across the country will be asked one question: In or Out? The Brexit and Bremain campaigns have been raging for months already and a number of high-profile speakers have visited Dorset to try to persuade voters of their views. But what could Brexit really mean for Dorset? We take a look at some of the headline issues.

TOURISM

A PRICE jump on foreign travel could actually be beneficial for the tourism industry in Dorset, but the future is definitively uncertain.

This is according to Weymouth and Portland Council spokesman for tourism Jason Osborne.

Mr Osborne said: "As far as staying or leaving is concerned, it's one of those things where people are guessing and nobody really knows for sure.

"They are saying it's going to be more expensive for people from abroad to come to the UK and likewise it will be more expensive for people from the UK to go abroad.

"If it was expensive to go abroad, then I suppose people would want to stay at home."

Prime minister David Cameron has claimed that leaving the EU could put £230 on the cost of a family holiday and £4 on the price of a phone call home.

Tom Steadman, owner of Tom and Erin's Gift Shop, said: “It’s a difficult one because you hear so many different stories.

“I have no idea what the right solution is.

“You hear all these conflicting reports, who knows, it’s impossible to say.

“I wish we had a crystal ball but it’s a case of what will be will be.

“I don’t get excited about it generally.”

According to research compiled by the South West Research Company, foreign visitors bring a £183m boost to Dorset every year - a total of 11 per cent of all visitor spend. UK tourists spend £681m every year and 13 per cent of all employment is related to tourism.

South Dorset MP Richard Drax, who supports Brexit, said: “It won’t have any effect on tourism at all, why would it?

“Leaving the EU does not mean to say that tourism will shut down.

“Everyone who says otherwise is part of this fear spreading.”

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PROPERTY

MARKET COULD Brexit be a boost to first time buyers or strike a blow to the property industry?

This week chancellor George Osborne claimed that leaving the European Union could bring with it a drop by as much as 18 per cent in house prices.

Iain Duncan Smith rubbished this claim, saying the treasury report it was based on 'could not be believed'.

According to research by Your Move and Reeds Rains in conjunction with Acadatathe peak house prices in Dorset reached £313,054 in March, representing a year-on-year growth of 9.7 per cent.

Councillor Kevin Brookes, who was spokesman for housing at the Weymouth and Portland Borough Council for two years, said that this drop wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

He said: "Any fall in housing prices would be beneficial to those who are having trouble affording housing.

"There must be people out there who are just on the cusp of being able to afford a home.

"However, this is probably not what people want to hear who are on the verge of selling or down sizing."

An independent estate agent, who did not wish to be named, said: "Down here, we are insulated from the rest of the world.

"Things happen slower here.

"At the moment, we have not got any idea what the effect would be.

"All we've got to do is be a little bit reactive to the market."

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FARMING

FARMING is a big industry in Dorset. According to figures from the NFU there are 2,241 commercial farm holdings in the county, which together farm 74 per cent of the land area. The industry directly employs 5,974 people and contributes £10.2m to Dorset’s economy every year.

A big issue for farmers is the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which gives subsidies to farm businesses and supports environmental schemes. Those in favour of CAP say that it offers stable food supplies at stable prices. But others say it artificially inflates food prices by ignoring the law of supply and demand.

The NFU’s official position is to be cautiously in favour of remaining in the EU – though they are not campaigning.

Wakely Cox, a Dorset farmer and chairman of the Dorset County Show, said he feels as though ‘no one knows what’s going to happen’ if the UK leaves the EU.

“I don’t think we’ve been given enough facts. It could be more harmful coming out or staying in, no one knows.

“But if we do come out it could be five or 10 years before they sort it all out – but in reality things move a lot quicker than that.”

West Dorset MP Oliver Letwin, who supports David Cameron’s pro-EU stance said local farmers will lose out if voters opt to leave.

"There are good reasons why the NFU wants the UK to remain within the Common Agricultural Policy and the free trade single market. We all know that the CAP is far from perfect. But if our agricultural produce faced high tariffs and if UK agriculture could no longer rely on support from the EU, our local farmers would lose."

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BUSINESS

BUSINESS owners in Dorset are concerned about the uncertainty surrounding the prospect of Brexit and its consequences for trade and employment in the county.

Nigel Reed, manager of Weymouth Business Improvement District (BID), said that it was tough for business owners to decide as "they will say it's terrible on both sides" and there are many unknowns.

He said: "In or out, [the EU] will still be a big market for us.

"At the moment, we know what we have got, but there's a whole world out there and until it happens, we don't know."

Cormac Linehan, owner of The Pet Experience in Weymouth, said: "There is so much information flying around with statistics and perceived facts that it is very difficult for most ordinary people like myself to decipher things and make an informed decision."

Helen Willis, Unison regional manager for the South West, said employment rights 'many people take for granted could be on the line'.

“Jobs and pay across the NHS and public sector would be hit because of the economic uncertainty that would follow any exit. This instability could last for many years.

"Exiting the EU would mean hard-won rights which we all now enjoy, such as guaranteed holiday, fair working hours, equal rights for part-time workers and maternity and paternity leave would no longer be assured."

Brexit campaigners say exiting the EU may not necessarily mean these rights would be lost, as they have become 'workplace norms'

Some employment rights - such as national minimum wage and unfair dismissal protection - would not be affected.

Dorset Echo:

BORDER SECURITY

DORSET's coastline is home to several major ports, which means that security is a priority for residents.

If Britain votes to leave the EU in June, this could lead to major changes in the way borders are policed and security arrangements are co-ordinated.

Martyn Underhill, Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner, said: "I believe we would keep ourselves safer if we were outside the European Union.

"You are only as strong as your weakest link and the borders in some countries are completely porous.

"There are terrorists and other people coming into the EU group of countries and we have no idea who they are.

"One of the men who carried out the Paris attacks came across on a ferry from Dover.

"He was wanted on a European arrest warrant, so clearly his passport wasn’t checked.

"If Brexit goes ahead we can negotiate arrest warrants outside the EU."

West Dorset MP Oliver Letwin said that Britain would be "safer as well as stronger" if it remains in the EU.

He said: "Our national security is reinforced by a range of alliances including NATO.

"But the ability to work closely with our EU partners certainly enables us to increase the level of protection for West Dorset residents from serious crime."

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