Sutton Coldfield councillor Meirion Jenkins was quite right when he said that the vast majority of people will decide with their hearts not their heads how to vote in the European Union referendum.
But he stressed that did not mean that the council should not try to put some objective information and analysis together to help citizens find out how continued membership or Brexit will affect Birmingham.
Councillor Jenkins said: “It’s a bit like choosing where you live, or who you marry, it is a decision about how you wish to lead your life. We’ve got to be realistic it’s a subjective decision.
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“But we can try to be as objective as we can about its impact on Birmingham.”
And he is right.
At one end of the spectrum of opinion are the people are inherently suspicious of the Germans and the French and have wanted nothing to do with the EU since day one, whatever the benefits of the single market.
At the other are those so hooked on the idea of harmonious internationalism that they warmly embrace the EU, despite its many faults.
The way it bullied the people of Greece last year or failure to answer the Syria migration crisis give them no cause for doubt.
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It is not for those with deeply held views that we need some analysis of the impact on our doorstep.
It is for those of us in the middle, who can see both sides and whose votes are still up for grabs.
And many are being put off by the heavy-handed rhetoric, twisting of facts, the passion bordering on aggression of those who are certain and personality driven campaigns on all sides.
The disappointingly named ‘Project Fear’ is also a turn-off... that we will witness economic apocalypse if we leave or will see Downing Street annexed by Belgian and German Eurocrats if we stay.
There is no doubt that Birmingham has received a considerable amount of funding from the EU over the decades, without which the likes of might not have been built as national governments have never been quite so keen to part with cash.
Of course, this is set against the costs of the EU, the country’s spend and, despite studies saying migrants of both EU and non EU contribute to the country’s economy, many will still argue they are a drain on costly public services and housing.
There is also a huge business and jobs angle.
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The region’s biggest success story is Jaguar Land Rover, creating thousands of high-skilled manufacturing jobs in the region.
This is built predominantly on trade with the Far East and North America, so may not be badly hit by Brexit, although an saying they would prefer it if Britain remained in.
Similarly one of the biggest investments coming to the city is the new HSBC headquarters in Broad Street and bosses there have been quite firm that an exit could hit their operations in London.
Is there similarly going to be an impact on the investment in Birmingham?
While it will be difficult for our leaders to disentangle the national from the local, there are questions which the people of Birmingham will need answering.
And a key one is that if the country agrees to leave the EU, will the British government replace the grants that keep our local universities going, support our businesses and underpin much of the investment in local infrastructure?
Of course, as Councillor Jenkins rightly said, this is more a heart decision than a head one, and when they step into a polling booth on June 23, the majority will vote on their instinct or gut feeling.
The European Union referendum
It's markets, but not as we know them
Future generations of Brummies will no doubt thank our visionary leaders for the new park, festival space, tram line, museums and high quality development contained in the
The historic markets, which have been in the area for the best part of a thousand years, are also set for a makeover.
Apparently the aim is for a 24-hour attraction selling international cuisine, organic, locally produced food or perhaps high priced trendy street food.
The council’s development director sums it up: “We want the market to be selling oysters and champagne in the evening after selling fish in the day”
So where does the pensioner cramming a cauliflower and two pound of potatoes into a shopping trolley or the student raiding the Rag Market for a few bargains fit into this brave new world?
During protests against the closure of the wholesale markets a few years ago, it was repeatedly claimed by campaigners that the likes of the Bullring and (at the time eagerly expected) Grand Central shopping centre, had priced ordinary Brummies out of the core city centre.
The markets, it was said, was all they had left. Now it seems there is a risk that even this could be lost to further gentrification of the city centre.