Delia Smith slams 'daily dose of scare tactics' in EU poll campaign
Television chef Delia Smith has waded into the EU referendum debate, saying the "daily dose of scare tactics simply beggars belief".
Writing in the Guardian newspaper and swapping recipes for a dollop of politics, she said the entire nation is being put under unnecessary pressure ahead of the June 23 vote.
A shareholder at Norwich City Football Club, she said the public already get to vote for a democratic system where decisions are meant to be made on their behalf.
"Instead, faced with this very grave decision which has such serious implications, we find ourselves pawns in a game of dubious political manoeuvring," she said.
And with apparent disdain for the political tit-for-tat, she said the "much-maligned European Union" has become a battleground "in the direct firing line of some vicious rhetoric".
"The most abhorrent and offensive of all was the EU being compared to, of all things, Hitler and Nazism," she added.
"The now daily dose of scare tactics simply beggars belief, and do you know what? It so isn't working.
"Because at this stage, I am sure you agree, we voters are just reduced to having a laugh."
The popular cookbook writer said she thinks the "current state of politics is pants" in the EU debate and that voters should "short-circuit the daily threats and angry squabbles".
"What each of us is being asked to do is cast a vote that will affect not just our lives, but the future of generations to come," she said.
"Each of us must reflect quietly and independently about this vote."
She said what will shape her own decision is that the "world is slowly beginning to become a global community" and that achievements in technology, science and medicine are down to scientists from groups of countries working closely together.
Backing the Remain campaign, Smith said she wants to do everything in her power to encourage people to support the UK's membership within a group of nations who are "learning how to coexist in a converging world".
