Britain goes to the polls on Thursday 23 June to decide whether the UK should stay a member of the European Union. Use this guide to find out the arguments from the Leave and Remain sides on a range of key topics.

Consumer affairs The debate The EU legislates on consumer protection issues and regulates on trading standards

The stated aims of the single market are to stimulate competition and trade, improve efficiency, raise quality, and cut prices

Campaigners disagree about the overall effect on household costs Leave EU red tape makes goods and services more expensive

The recent row over the “tampon tax” shows the EU has too much power, Britain should be able to set VAT rates itself

Consumer protection laws existed before the EU and would remain after Britain left Remain People in Britain save an average of £450 a year because prices are lower as a result of EU membership

Flights and mobile phone charges are among the goods and services that are cheaper

The EU ensures that imported goods meet European quality standards Cost of membership The debate The UK is a net contributor to the EU budget

The gross contribution in 2015 was £17.8bn but the UK rebate was worth £4.9bn

£4.4bn was also paid back to the UK government for farm subsidies and other programmes Leave The gross cost works out at £350m a week

If the UK left, billions of pounds would become available for other priorities

The UK would also be able to decide how to spend the money that the EU transfers back to it Remain Economic benefits of EU membership easily outweigh the cost

Other countries contribute more per person than the UK does

After Brexit, the UK would still have to contribute to the EU budget to retain access to the single market Education and research The debate National governments are responsible for education but the EU promotes co-operation between member states

The EU plans to spend €80bn on research between 2014 and 2020 under the Horizon 2020 programme Leave Only 3% of total R&D spending in Britain is funded by the EU

The UK will be able to increase funding to science out of savings from not paying for EU membership

Britain could set its own immigration policy which could fast track scientists and graduates Remain UK universities receive millions in research funding from the EU

Many of the UK's top scientists come from elsewhere in Europe with the help of EU grants

The Erasmus programme allows British students to study abroad Energy and environment The debate The EU is in the process of developing an integrated energy market

There are several EU-wide policies to tackle climate change including the Emissions Trading Scheme

It also legislates on issues such as water quality and air pollution Leave EU environmental regulation can be an unnecessary burden on business and push up energy prices

Other European countries would still want to sell their electricity to the UK after Brexit

Most of the UK's gas imports come from Norway – Britain is not dependent on Russia Remain Leaving the EU would see energy bills rise by £500m

Britain’s energy security is stronger as part of the EU because it negotiates as a large bloc

The UK has cleaner water and air, and lower greenhouse gas emissions, thanks to EU action Farming and fishing The debate The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) remains the EU’s biggest area of spending although its share of the budget is falling

EU subsidies account for 50% of British farm incomes

The EU’s Common Fisheries Policy sets rules for the amount of fish each country’s boats can catch Leave Britain pays more for the CAP than it gets back so leaving the EU would make more money available for UK farmers

The CAP also wastes lots of money on bureaucracy

The Common Fisheries Policy has devastated the British fishing industry Remain Many British farmers would go out of business without the support of the CAP

73% of UK farming exports go to the EU

It was the EU that forced France and Germany to lift bans on British beef

Fisheries have to be managed to prevent over-fishing Global role and defence The debate The EU’s role in foreign affairs has grown in recent years

Its foreign policy is led by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs who is assisted by the European External Action Service

Individual member states retain a veto on foreign policy proposals Leave Membership of Nato and the UN Security Council are more important to Britain’s defence than the EU

The EU interferes with defence procurement and wants to set up its own army

Britain would have more influence on the world stage as an independent country Remain UK needs to be in the EU helping to take big decisions, not sitting on the sidelines

Leaving the EU would diminish Britain’s influence on the world stage

Working with EU neighbours to tackle shared threats has helped keep Britain safer Immigration The debate Total net migration to the UK is running at over 300,000 a year despite the government’s target of cutting it to under 100,000

The most recent official figures put net migration from EU countries at 184,000 a year and non-EU at 188,000

EU citizens have the right to live and work in any member state Leave It is impossible to control immigration as a member of the EU

Public services are under strain because of the number of migrants

High immigration has driven down wages for British workers

Points-based system for migrants to the UK should be extended to include those from the EU Remain Immigrants, especially those from the EU, pay more in taxes than they take out

Cameron's EU deal means in-work benefits for new EU migrant workers will be limited for the first four years

Outside the EU the UK would still have to accept free movement to gain full access to the single market

Immigration is good for the economy Policing and security The debate Terror attacks in Paris and Brussels have brought security to the centre of the debate

The UK is not part of the Schengen borderless travel area but EU citizens have the right to free movement

Entry to Britain can be blocked if public security is at stake Leave Being in the EU makes it easier for terrorists to come to the UK

Supremacy of EU courts makes it harder to deport violent criminals

Britain would still co-operate with other European countries to fight terrorism after Brexit, as currently happens with the US Remain Britain does not have open borders because it is not in the Schengen area

Europol membership allows the UK to share intelligence and fight cross-border crime

The European Arrest Warrant has returned over 1,000 criminals to face justice in the UK Sovereignty and laws The debate The UK has to apply EU directives. EU regulations are binding across all member states

EU laws are proposed by the European Commission and most of them must be agreed by at least 16 national governments representing 65% of the EU population as well as the European Parliament

EU laws are enforced by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) Leave Most UK laws are made in Brussels

Other member states can force through decisions against the UK’s wishes

The British government has repeatedly been defeated in cases brought to the ECJ

Leaving the EU is the only way to regain full sovereignty Remain Only a minority of UK laws derive from the EU

Britain retains a veto in many important areas

Cameron’s EU deal allows national parliaments to block legislation

Some sharing of sovereignty is crucial to enable fair trade across Europe Trade and economy The debate About half of UK overseas trade is conducted with the EU

The EU single market allows the free movement of goods, services, capital and workers

Trade negotiations with other parts of the world are conducted by the EU, not individual member states Leave UK companies would be freed from the burden of EU regulation

Trade with EU countries would continue because we import more from them than we export to them

Britain would be able to negotiate its own trade deals with other countries Remain Brexit would cause an economic shock and growth would be slower

As a share of exports Britain is more dependent on the rest of the EU than they are on us

The UK would still have to apply EU rules to retain access to the single market Travel and living abroad The debate Over a million Britons live in other EU countries and millions more visit each year

Membership of the EU allows citizens to live and work where they like

The EU also makes rules which affect tourists travelling around Europe Leave There is no reason that leaving the EU would make it harder to go on holiday in Europe

International law means current expats could not be forced to return to the UK

The UK has deals with lots of other countries to help Britons living abroad Remain Flights to Europe and using mobile phones on holiday are cheaper thanks to the EU

British tourists enjoy free or cheaper healthcare in other EU countries

There is no guarantee that expats in the EU would be able to stay after Brexit Work and pay The debate Unemployment is over 10% in the EU, almost double the rate in the UK

Some workers’ rights are guaranteed by EU laws but tax rates, benefits and the minimum wage are down to UK government decisions Leave Less regulation in the workplace would create more jobs

Maternity leave and holiday pay would only change if Britain decided to change them

The UK could get more investment from countries outside the EU

Lower migration would push wages up Remain Three million jobs in the UK are linked to trade with the EU

The EU has delivered guaranteed holiday pay, paid maternity leave, and increased protection in the workplace

The UK gets £66m investment every day from the EU