What the EU referendum is about

It's very simple:

Do you want Britain to become a province of a single country governed from Brussels by mainly unelected people?

Do you want Britain to become again an independent self-governing country, free to co-operate with the EU and the rest of the world as our own elected government thinks fit?

This is the biggest strategic decision in anyone's life time. It is nothing less than the question ‘Do you want to live in a democracy, or in a bureaucratic oligarchy?’

Some of the things we could decide if we became again a self-governing country include—

How many people should be allowed to come and live here, and what skills they should have.
What standards of environmental protection should apply in Britain.
What workers rights there should be in Britain.
What regulations our businesses should comply with.

At the moment all these things, and many others, are decided for us by the EU.

Above all, if you don't like what the British government decides, you can vote them out, and elect different people with different policies. With the EU you get the same policies decade after decade, and the people in charge pay almost no attention to the results of elections or referendums.

And what it's not about

It's not about starting World War III: Germany is not going to attack France because (1) Germany is now a mature democracy and shows no hostile military intentions, (2) France has nuclear weapons and Germany does not, and (3) France and Germany are in NATO.
It's not about getting the policies you want from the EU. It may be that you prefer some EU policies to those of the British government; for example, you may prefer the EU's workers' rights or environmental protection regulations to those you think the British government might have enacted. In many cases the EU is able to impose more costly policies upon its Member States precisely because the EU is undemocratic and can ignore public opinion. But would you hand your affairs over to a tyrant just because you liked his initial decisons? How do you know what policies the EU may impose upon Britain later on? Wouldn't it be better to retain – or rather restore – democratic control in this country?
It's not really about economics: the British economy will muddle along quite satisfactorily whether we're in or out of the EU. But if we leave, it will take the economy a few years to adjust. This transitional cost is the price we pay for restoring self-government in Britain. You have to decide if that is worth paying. The price will get bigger the longer we delay our departure from the EU.
It's not about students being able to back-pack around Europe in their gap year. Amazingly, this has always been possible, EU or no EU. Several countries have visa-free travel agreements with the EU. In or out, Euros will still come out of the ATMs.
It's not about lower roaming charges for mobile phones: whatever the EU decides to charge will be what you pay, whether Britain is in or out.
It's not about participation in the EU's Eramus+ educational programme. Erasmus+ is open to countries outside the EU and it is highly likely that the UK would want to agree participation following a Brexit.
It's not about cheaper air fares: whatever air fares are charged in the EU are the ones you'll have to pay, in or out.
It's not about staffing the NHS. 89% of NHS staff are British. The next two nationalities are from outside the EU: Indian (1.7%) and Phillipine (1.3%). The number of foreign staff in the NHS fell slightly between 2009 and 2014. The number of nurse training places in England is artificially constrained by a quango called Health Education England. In 2014 57,000 people applied to train as a nurse but 37,000 were rejected. Between 2010 and 2014 the number of nurse training places was cut from 21,766 to 19,206 (Source: Royal College of Nursing). Is it moral for Britain to poach trained medical staff from poorer countries whose own peoples are in desperate need of health care?
It's not about security and anti-terrorism: most security co-operation is intergovernmental, and it is almost certain that Britain and the EU will want to continue such co-operation as already exists within the EU.
It's not about getting massive grants from the EU: Britain pays into the EU more than it gets back in grants so, after Brexit, there'd be more tax payers money available for such grants. But the British government would decide where the money went, not the EU.
It's not about the British Empire: that was wound down in the 1960s and ceased to exist around 1980. No one thinks it's coming back.
It's not about affirming that you like other countries and their peoples. Most people in Britain want to be friendly with other peoples, but do you want to be governed by them?
It's not about turning our backs on Europe, or wanting to be isolated in the world. No one wants Britain to curl up into a ball and talk only to itself. These phrases are just aunt sallys that campaigners erect because they're so easy to knock down.