Honey I Left the EU

~ Sarada Gray

Last night I watched Panorama documentary about people in the West Midlands who voted for Brexit.  (Incidentally, I voted ‘shake it all about’ – where are my views represented?)  Anyway, it was a really interesting watch.  He interviewed a dozen or so people about why they voted for Out: they were all white and working-class and although not overtly racist there was a persistent perception that immigrants and refugees get houses and services ‘ahead of’ them.  So far, so predictable.  But there was a strain in their thinking which I hadn’t been aware of.  A lot of Brexiteers seem to want to turn the clock back to some kind of golden age; and whereas for many this is a time when Britain was ‘great’ – 1966, perhaps, or when we had an empire – others (and these were the ones represented in the documentary) simply want a time when there were jobs and an industrial base.  And I can’t blame them for that.  Where I obviously differ from them is in who’s responsible.  Whereas they tend to blame foreign workers for undercutting them I would point the finger at the system which fosters this ‘divide and rule’ mentality, ie global capitalism.  This probably highlights a difference in our thinking: I am happy dealing with abstract concepts whereas they see things in more concrete terms.

The thing is, though; the thing that really got to me, is that every one of these interviewees said, over and over ‘nobody’s listening to us.’  And you know what?  They’re probably right.  It’s too easy to categorise them as ill-informed racists or uneducated tabloid-fodder; it’s too easy to dismiss their views.  But they have a point; and the fact that they feel so ignored and sidelined made me feel sad.  And it made me feel a little guilty, too.

What’s good about it is that the referendum engaged people who were otherwise disengaged: many people had voted for the first time because for the first time they felt they had a voice, and that people would listen.  And that’s why – though I hate the thought more than I can say – we have to go through with it.  God knows I don’t want to: I think it’s a bloody disaster and I feel those who voted for it are in for a massive disappointment – but if I want the Labour party to respect Corbyn’s appointment (and I do) I have to want the government to respect this vote.  Otherwise those who voted for the first time will lapse back into anger, apathy and resentment.  Otherwise it’s a betrayal of democracy.  Otherwise we don’t deserve to be trusted.

Here’s the programme:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b07k7m4x/panorama-why-we-voted-to-leave-britain-speaks

Kirk out

Published by Sarada Gray

I started my first novel, aged 8, in a draughty vicarage, finishing it 14 years later. My first poem emerged on a Sussex beach in 1965, but I didn’t return to poetry until 2007: I’m still trying to find out why. I have published short stories, poems and reviews and am a recognised performance poet. I’ve been married 21 years and have two children, Holly, 20 and Daniel, 17; but my husband now wants to be known as female. My struggles with this and its effects on my writing, are the springboard for short stories and a radio play.

3 thoughts on “Honey I Left the EU”

  1. Why do we ‘have to’ go through with it? As everyone knows by now, the referendum was ‘advisory’ rather than ‘binding’. And many of those who voted ‘Leave’ are now regretting their vote. In addition, a majority of MPs (of all parties) are against Brexit and the finall ‘Brexit candidate’ for the PMship dropped out (ignominiously) yesterday. Those who know anything at all about Brexit know that it will be a disaster: why does it have to be ‘gone through’ with then? It’s not inevitable, like a Greek tragedy.

    The people who voted for it are used to not being listened to, as you say. So it won’t make any odds to them if they’re not listened to on this occasion, either. ‘Golden age’ thinking seems to be something common to people born before, say, 1965 – not their fault as such, they were probably taught by a lot of Empire Loyalist school teachers, who were weaned on the same diet. And I don’t accept the excuse of ignorance – it’s never been easier to access information than it is today. Are these people too busy, or too lazy, to access the plentiful info available?

    One thing is for certain: if there is no Brexit, there will be no riots.

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  2. Also: would the people who voted Leave not be even more demoralised and disaffected by the results of Brexit than they would be by the rejection of the Referendum result? There is sometimes a danger in getting what you wish for…

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