If you pick the wrong guy or gal to lead your country, at least you can throw the bum out within a few years. But a vote on membership in a major economic bloc? If that goes wrong, it may be up to your kids or grandkids to make it right.

Britons who want to exit the European Union see exactly that unfolding, as they work to undo the U.K.’s 1973 move to join the EU. Meanwhile, Brexit’s opponents argue it’s this week that the nation is hurtling toward a big mistake that will set back an entire generation.

While the public debate has focused on economic arguments — such as whether an exit would shrink or boost the U.K. economy — experienced pundits suggest voters will be driven by emotions, deciding with their hearts, not their heads.

Each side has its fair share of big names. The “leave” campaign can count on London Mayor Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage from the anti-immigration U.K. Independence Party, plus maybe even Queen Elizabeth II, according to a Sun report. (Buckingham Palace quickly denied the tabloid’s story.) The “remain” campaign’s heavy hitters include Prime Minister David Cameron, President Obama and business groups.

Read on for five hot-button arguments that have helped draw U.K. voters over to the leave campaign’s side. Then keep going for five appeals that the remain camp is making.

The “in” side has generally been ahead in polls, but some recent polls have showed growing support for “out” — though bookmakers’ odds, which have a good track record as a predictor, still put remain ahead.

The U.K.’s in/out referendum on EU membership is underway Thursday.

An EU flag flies at a camp for migrants and refugees. Getty Images

‘Out’ argument No. 1: Control immigration

Immigration, a touchy subject in the U.S., is no less important to U.K. voters, especially given Europe’s migrant crisis.

The leave campaign’s “trump card” is “immigration and strong borders, the issue that has remained at or near the top of voters’ concerns for years,” said Clare Foges, a former speechwriter for U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, in a column for The Times of London.

The EU has struggled to address the migrant crisis effectively, and Brexiteers argue the U.K. needs to avoid getting dragged down by the bloc’s actions or lack thereof. Migrants are taking jobs and places in schools from British citizens, “outers” argue.

“The EU response to the migration crisis is a Five Nations free-for-all with an invitation to Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania and Turkey to join the Union,” said Michael Gove, a Brexit supporter and the U.K.’s justice secretary, in a column. “Because we cannot control our borders .... public services such as the NHS will face an unquantifiable strain as millions more become EU citizens and have the right to move to the U.K.”

Boris Johnson backs Brexit. Getty Images

‘Out’ argument No. 2: Make Britain great again

Britain’s economy would be better off after an exit, according to London mayor Boris Johnson, arguably the most prominent politician in the leave camp. He has likened it to an escape from prison.

The U.K. would be more competitive because it could make its own trade deals with other nations and legislate in the interest of British manufacturing, Johnson argued in March.

The billionaire co-founder of broker Hargreaves Landsdowne has argued a Brexit “would be the biggest stimulus to get our butts in gear,” likening it to the Dunkirk retreat during World War II.

Such appeals to national pride and even nostalgia have big roles in the Brexit pitches.

“I yearn for the days when my (gorgeous navy blue) passport got stamped when I went anywhere in Europe,” said English actress and Brexit supporter Liz Hurley in a column for a magazine. U.K. passports are now burgundy and conform to an EU format.

“Vote Leave” supporters gather at a rally in Manchester, England. Getty Images

‘Out’ argument No. 3: Reject the Brussels bureaucrats

The EU “has become centralizing, regulating and controlling, the opposite of what is needed for jobs and future success,” said Gerard Lyons, a leave supporter and Johnson’s chief economic adviser, in a column for The London Evening Standard.

Countries that succeed in the future global economy will “need to be flexible, adaptable and control their own destiny. Brexit allows us this,” he said.

Brexit backers complain about rules set in Brussels that stipulate such things as the curvature of cucumbers and bananas — and that even override Britain’s own laws.

See:Brexit turns Credit Suisse bearish on London housing market

Prime Minister David Cameron isn’t exactly popular with everyone. Getty Images

‘Out’ argument No. 4: Reject what the establishment wants

If incumbent politicians and big banks EUFN, -1.56% told you to do something, wouldn’t you kind of want to do the opposite?

That helps explain part of the appeal of Brexit. The in/out debate has helped reveal deep skepticism toward the establishment, just as this year’s unusual presidential race has done that in the U.S.

The Twitterverse, for example, teed off on how The Financial Times put a spotlight on bond guru Jeff Gundlach dismissing Brexit. It’s exactly the kind of thing that riles up backers of the leave campaign.

This is a nation, after all, that voted for “Boaty McBoatface,” showing its “healthy disregard for authority,” as one blogger put it.

Read:Banks will be the sector hit hardest by a Brexit

And see:Bank of America bans use of the word “Brexit”

Brexiteers argue there will be cheaper food bills after an exit. Getty Images

‘Out’ argument No. 5: Lower prices

The EU is a “customs area” that aims to protect the agricultural and manufacturing industries, said Lyons in his column. It does this by setting quotas, giving handouts to farmers and putting restrictions on just where fishing boats can trawl, the argument goes.

That “results in people across the EU paying more for the prices of these things compared with world markets. With Brexit, people would suddenly face cheaper prices for food, as we would be paying world prices,” Lyons argued.

Check out:The Swiss franc is your best bet for “Brexit” protection

The remain campaign predicts the exact opposite — namely, higher costs for families if the U.K. exits the EU. Read on now for that side’s arguments.

“Britain Stronger In Europe” supporters wait for a campaign bus in Newcastle, England. Getty Images

‘In’ argument No. 1: It’s the economy, stupid

“‘Prosperity is necessarily the first theme of a political campaign,’ said Woodrow Wilson, and for the Remainers it should be the first, second and third,” said Foges in her column.

“On this issue, Remain have the status quo on their side (with an economy predicted to be the fastest-growing in the developed world this year); they have a prime minister who has presided over record job creation; and opponents who can only offer vague, John Bull optimism.”

Don’t underestimate how much the U.K. needs the rest of the EU, warns The Economist, a U.K. magazine that opposes a departure.

“The Brexit camp’s claim that Europe needs Britain more than the other way round is fanciful: the EU takes almost half Britain’s exports, whereas Britain takes less than 10% of the EU’s,” the magazine said.

See:How a “Brexit” could cost the U.K. £100 billion and a million jobs

Did Janet Leigh just hear about Brexit? A scene from the 1960 movie “Psycho.” Everett Collection

‘In’ argument No. 2: Avoid scary uncertainty

If the U.K. votes to exit, it will take a while for companies and the government to set up new ways of doing business — and that could hammer investor confidence. That’s the warning from the International Monetary Fund.

“Negotiations on postexit arrangements would likely be protracted, resulting in an extended period of heightened uncertainty that could weigh heavily on confidence and investment, all the while increasing financial market volatility,” the IMF said in its World Economic Outlook report.

The in campaign itself has sounded a similarly scary tune. But the outers have denounced such warnings, slapping them with labels such as “Project Fear” or “scaremongering.”

Check out:Why a Brexit could “kill” London as a financial hub

If Putin wants the U.K. to say bye to the EU, then... Getty Images

‘In’ argument No. 3: A more secure world

If Vladimir Putin wants you to do something, it’s wise to find the opposite of that something, then do that instead, Telegraph columnist Charles Crawford wrote in March.

And the Russian leader — rubbing his hands with glee at the prospect of a weakened Europe — wants a Brexit, he suggests. Crawford then quickly adds that doesn’t mean Brits should oppose an exit, but he probably has lost his remain-leaning readers at that point in his column.

The Economist has warned that Brexit would “unmoor the fifth-largest defense spender from its allies. Poorer, less secure and disunited, the new EU would be weaker; the West, reliant on the balancing forces of America and Europe, would be enfeebled, too.”

Even within the U.K. itself, the state of affairs could become much less stable. Brexit could “initiate an irrevocable process toward Scottish independence and the breakup of the United Kingdom,” security specialist John M. Roberts cautioned in a column for MarketWatch.

Spain is a top destination for British expats, with restaurants catering to them. Getty Images

‘In’ argument No. 4: Keep that easy access to sunny Spain

If the U.K. leaves the EU, its citizens could end up needing visas to travel to continental Europe. Even Brexiteers have conceded that.

Brits who aren’t just traveling to spots such as Spain, but instead have actually retired there, could face even more headaches. These expats could, for example, no longer count on easy access to health care and public services.

The U.K.’s college students also could lose out, as they have benefited from EU freedom of movement rules, using them to study at universities on the Continent — some of which have lower fees.

Read:Don’t freak out about “Brexit” — now is the time to buy U.K. stocks

“Why pay more?” asks U.K. Treasury chief George Osborne, who opposes Brexit. Getty Images

‘In’ argument No. 5: A hit to households

After Brexit, the U.K. economy could be around 6% smaller by 2030 — and that would mean a loss of income equivalent to about £4,300 (or $6,100) a year for every British household, Treasury chief Osborne said in a report in mid-April.

“The overall economic benefits of EU membership are significantly higher than in any potential alternative,” the report argued.

U.K. shoppers save 350 pounds a year, or about $511, thanks to lower prices that come from being part of the EU. That’s according to the remain campaign, which cites London School of Economics data.

See:Why Brexit fears won’t stop the Fed from raising rates

This story was first published on April 29, 2016.