Whatever the result, the Leave campaign has won.

Do you remember what it was like before this goddamn referendum took up all the space on our Facebook feeds? I certainly do. Daily uproar at the uselessness of the EU trade department. Weekly protests at the undemocratic nature of the European Commission. The EU president, cowering with fear of the ever watchful, ever critical British public.

Remember that? Of course not. Because before February when Cameron returned from his mini city break in Europe with four bags of hot air, no one apart from political hacks and nerds knew of or gave two flying figs about the EU Commission or the democratic deficit.

But not anymore. Whilst there have been many ugly downsides to this referendum I am so incredibly glad that we are having it. Contrary to the thoughts of David Mitchell & co who believe the electorate to be made of primordial soup incapable of coherent or rational thought, I think that the British public has proved that it can engage in difficult political issues and I expect this will be reflected in an unusually high turnout.

And regardless of the outcome, the Leave campaign has won in one sense. Whilst many (David Cameron included) hoped that this referendum would end the EU issue, particularly with regards to his own party, in fact it has done the complete opposite. This referendum has brought a once niche, predominantly Conservative, debate to the front of mainstream politics. Unless you hermitted yourself away for the past two months you will have been exposed to endless ‘EU chat’, from people you never knew cared about politics. From the pub with your mates to awkward tinder dates, everywhere has been consumed by this debate.

And so the lasting legacy of this referendum will be a reinvigorated British electorate, now more critical, more conscious of the EU’s dealings and failings. Regardless of which way the vote goes, the Leave campaign has achieved a substantial victory, one the EU should not easily forget.