I’m no longer a European! After the “Brexit” referendum, Great Britain has somehow managed to make itself into more of an island and less “Great” than ever… if you ask me.
I haven’t blogged on here because I am blogging every day this year over at 366 Pictures. However, I wanted to return here just to express my shock and disappointment that the UK has decided, by a small majority, to divorce itself from Europe.
The vote seems to have been carried by the “grey-heads” and people who seem to rattle on endlessly about immigration for reasons that I have yet to understand.
It wasn’t all down to the oldies though. One of my friends said that he was “delighted” with the result of the referendum because he wants to see an end to the “uncontrolled exodus from Eastern Europe” to the shores of Britain. Ironically though in the past he lived in another European country for a while, and he says he wants to do so again. I wonder, would he classify himself as an “immigrant” in that case or an “ex-pat?”
While I am sure that many people have sound reasons for wanting to exit the EU, I can’t help but think that many of those who voted in favor of the divorce, did so out of thinly-veiled racism.
How did immigration become such a talking point in this referendum when it seems that the issue isn’t actually one that any clear position has been stated by any of the powers that be? And what do those who want to see an end to the “tidal wave of immigrants” think is going to happen? Do they think that people from EU countries who are living in the UK will be summarily rounded up and sent back to Europe?
I am very concerned that the word immigration now seems to be an incendiary word capable of bringing out the ugly side of so many people who disguise hateful racist fears under a flag of national pride.
U.S. Presidential hopeful, Donald Trump, has endorsed the exit vote in what I think is a chilling preview of what might be to come in the coming election in the United States. Trump unashamedly whips up fear and racism with comments that it seems only excite his supporters. His tactic of using controversial claims and outright falsehoods has put him in a head to head fight for the White House, with facts playing second fiddle to fiction.
The so-called “Brexit” (and I REALLY hate that term) referendum seemed rife with the same problems. Facts and figures were set aside for fear-mongering and misinformation served with a familiar dose of racism dressed up as “national pride.”
So now I am no longer a European, despite what my passport says on the cover. I’m not sure what effect this will have on my life, though as someone who lives overseas, I can tell you that today I am not happy with the British Pounds I have in the my UK bank and now worth significantly less as I spend them. Other effects will take longer to see and experience, I suppose we’ll have to wait and see what happens. Time will tell if it was a mistake or not.
I tend to think that this referendum was won by selling a soup of fear and misinformation to the public and getting them to vote on a single issue, rather than truly understanding the wider question. Maybe that’s just the game of modern politics, in which case, I think our friends across the Atlantic might want to ready themselves for President Trump!
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I’m blogging over at 366 Pictures this year – though I am really behind with that right now. I will catch up though, so please check it out, even if you voted for Brexit, I’ll still love you over there :-)
Wrote the following comment on Jun 26, 2016 at 2:25 pm
My biggest issue with this leave vote is, it was done with such little research from those that voted leave. If you ask leavers to tell you why they voted out,they struggle. They’ll tell you they’re fed up of illegal immigrants, they’ll tell you they want to take back control of their country. If you press them on the matter, they flounder. If you ask them who we lost control to, they can’t tell you. If you ask them what will happen to immigrants now, they can’t tell you.
So for any people that voted leave read this, here’s a few pointers.
1. Immigration. EU migration is unlikely to be effected by the vote to leave. The leave campaign never made any promise to get rid of immigrants. To trade with Europe, we will more than likely sign a deal that will allow the same freedom of movement, just like Spain and Norway. As for illegal immigrants, they’ll remain illegal. If you’re unhappy about that, perhaps you should write to your MP and ask him why the UK borders agency budget was slashed.
2. Taking power back from faceless unelected beuroracy. Claiming the EU is undemocratic us a little like saying th e UK political system isn’t democratic because the civil service is unelected. The EU commision is the equivalent of the civil service. They can suggest policy, they can’t impose it. Any policy has to be voted on by the member states. You can’t complain about the EU being anti democratic and then call the UK democratic when the tories were vote in with only 24% of the vote, we have an unelected house of Lords and a monarchy. Let’s at least be consistent.
What we’ve done is jump off a perfectly nice cruiseliner because we didn’t like the waiter in the restaurant. After a few moments of elation at our ‘liberation’ we are going to start asking what’s next?
In my humble opinion, the publics anger is misdirected when aimed at immigrants. You can’t get a GP appointment, class sizes are too big etc. not because of immigrants, but because you voted for a government who promised a policy of austerity.
My greatest fear is that with Boris in number ten, Putin in the Kremlin, Trump in the Whitehouse and a fractured chaotic Europe, a peace built out of cooperation and understanding and that has endured for 70 years could be jeopardised. All because, we didn’t like foreigners.
Wrote the following comment on Jun 26, 2016 at 3:59 pm
Immigration, wages, job prospects, housing, NHS, school places, democratic conduct of the EU parliament: all real problems. REMAIN SUPPORTERS AGREE
WHERE WE DISAGREE is leaving the EU as a solution.
Yes the was referendum was as opportunity to kick the Westminster establishment.
Neither David Cameron or Jeremy Corbin inspired the nation
The people who blamed immigration or EU bureaucracy (Nigel Farage, Boris Johnson, Micheal Gove) created false hopes.
A vote for keeping the status quo was never going to excite more REMAINERS to the polls.
Immigration, wages, job prospects, housing, NHS, school places, will not improve, they will get worse as we leave.
There are three kinds of immigration
1) EU legitimates – you can send these people back where they came from, and BTW all the Brits living in the EU now may be sent home so what have you gained ? AND if we want the same free trade terms as Norway, Switzerland and others then we will have to accept free movement anyway so nothing gained there.
2) Refugees – that depends on our policy for receiving them just like always. BTW Steve Jobs father was a Syrian migrant.
3) Illegal migrants – we will still get the same illegal migrants, because they can go to Ireland and walk accross the boarder to NI and same if Scotland leaves.
I’m not convinced that we can reverse the decision, but I might wish in 2 years that I had said or done something to improve the chances that it can be reversed, so I will be supporting any measure that reverses this decision. The first option on the table (unlikely as it is to work) is this petition. https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/131215
and I will support any measure that leads to a more efficient, more effective, more democratic European Union. Decisions that improves the chances of better health, jobs, education, financial security for everyone in the UK, EU and the wider world.
As they say, All that evil needs to succeed is that good men do nothing.
(No I do not mean the referendum was evil but you get my point)
Wrote the following comment on Jun 26, 2016 at 10:20 pm
Darling you write beautifully. Can you maybe syndicate this beautiful prose. E.g. to Monocle?
Wrote the following comment on Jun 28, 2016 at 10:14 pm
@Wilvo & James – Comments well made chaps! I’ve once again given up watching the news (just as I did post-Paris attacks with all the ‘newsence’ and racism that followed. The people who regret their vote annoy me, but I am not surprised they didn’t think their vote counted. Politicians have done their best to create fear of ‘terrorism’ and ‘immigrants’ over subjects that really matter.
The result is that the masses get out of being engaged – just as the politicians wish, and instead get riled up about non-issues like immigration and terrorism. No surprise then that it’s backfired somewhat. I remain convinced the same will happen in the US.
The Pound continues to lose value and leaves me wondering if I should transfer money sooner rather than later. I’ve already lost a few hundred pounds on this, do I gamble and take my money out of the UK now, or keep my ‘chips on the table’ hoping the game comes back to me?
As for the petition. I am in two minds about this. Obviously I don’t want the UK to exit. But I strongly believe that if the government don’t honor the vote then they will do a great deal of harm to democracy in the UK and beyond. People already believe that their vote is worthless and that government doesn’t listen to them. Ignoring their wishes so publicly would be a body blow to freedom surely? It would also seriously undermine political power.
The vote should have had rules in it stating that a clear majority was needed to win. That way, an angry man from Manchester wouldn’t have been in the position of potentially casting the single vote that carried the country.
It’ll all very disappointing. And seeing all this racist spew hitting the news makes me really sad because hatred and ignorance fuels more hatred and ignorance, and I am sure that really nobody wants to live in a world full of that.
In the meantime, I will hope that the Pound rallies back because, like us all really, I am concerned about myself and my own situation, before the good of the country. Admitting that is ugly, but the truth is rarely a partner anyone wants to sleep with.
@Jeffrey – Thank you for those kind words Jeffrey. I love to write (and rant!), as you know. This post actually took me as long to write it as it probably took you to read it. I just banged it out and hit publish. Very reckless, but never mind. Of all the reckless thing a Brit has done recently, this post will have very little impact going forward :-)
Wrote the following comment on Jun 29, 2016 at 6:12 am
Hey, nice to see a post from beforeiforget. It’s been soooo long!
I was surprised by the brexit vote. Seeing British people on the news they seemed interchangable with Donal Trump supporters. I always though Brits were supposed to be educated polite people, but from the news coverage I saw, they seem more in line with the football hooligans you think of.
Its very strange. It makes me worried that Trump will win too!
Wrote the following comment on Jun 29, 2016 at 7:32 pm
I voted to leave and my reasons were not racist at all. I just think that Britain can do better. We give a great deal of money to the EU and unlike you I’m not a globe trotter who needs to worry about exchange rates or the like. My country is an island, we’re not Europeans, we’re British and while there are many who shut down all talk of NHS strain as “racism” I will tell you that I think we should have the right to say you can only have NHS treatment if you are British. When the NHS was formed it wasn’t the EHS was it? Since then our country has changed, and we’re not equipped to handle this I don’t think. It’s not a racist opinion – that’s just a handy way to portray these legitimate concerns – it’s an economic opinion!
As for the single market. The EU is not a free-trade area; it is a customs union. The difference may seem technical, but it goes to the heart of the decision we face. Free-trade areas remove barriers between members and, economists agree, tend to make participants wealthier. Customs unions, by contrast, erect a common tariff wall around their members, who surrender the right to strike individual trade deals. From the start, the EEC prioritised politics over economics and opted for a customs union as the means to a political union.
As for Norway and Switzerland. We can get a better deal than either. We are 65 million people to Switzerland’s eight million and Norway’s five million (when they left) we’d become the EU’s single biggest export market.
In short Simon. I don’t think this is quite the terrible news it’s being made out to be. Your Pounds will recover when the market settles down. You’ll be OK, and so will Britain!
Wrote the following comment on Jun 29, 2016 at 9:28 pm
@LunarLuvr – Yeah I am really busy with 366 as you know, but the whole Brexit thing bought me back here to vent a little. Though I’ll need to write something else soon or this will look very whingy – like a whinging pom! lol
@Union Jack – Fair points there Jack. We don’t agree of course, but I do understand what you mean. I guess the NHS could be done on basis or residency? Though if that were the case then would I be disallowed as someone living over-seas? It’s tricky. But the thing is I don’t know if the NHS is under significantly more strain, and it seems that while this point has been made a lot, nobody seems to be backing that up with any solid data. Yes the EU has changed since we joined, but then that’s progress. Time marches on, right?
I sincerely hope Britain doesn’t close its borders and become an intolerant island of people who rattle on about immigrants and terrorism. Australia, a country I do love, has become something of an island of racists and that’s an unenviable reputation to have, and an even more terrible mindset to have in a word that technology, progress, business and commerce has made more accessible since WW2.
I think this notion of “making Britain Great again” sounds good, but it doesn’t seem to be backed up by anything more than bluster and guff.
Wrote the following comment on Aug 29, 2016 at 4:08 am
Hi Simon
Great stuff you wrote about brexit, agree with everything you said, obviously a man of my own heart !
Just discovered your blog on your trip through Vietnam .
Has provided me with much info , as i am planning a trip early next year. That trip must have been amazing.
You didnt state how long your stay was ? Being a keen motorcyclist myself, have you written about any other trips ? Keep these great write ups coming ! Many thanks Ian .