The Brexit Vote: My Take on Britain’s Wild Ride

The Brexit Vote: My Insight into Britain’s Crazy Decision

Hey, let’s go deeper in the Brexit vote. But when I say deep, I mean, very deep, and none of that fickle, sit-fence talking. The whole matter was a complete horror show right up to the end, and I really have something to suggest about it.

Okay well first things first, I should tell you that green is my favorite color: I decided to vote Remain. Yeah, I said it. But don’t think it’s going to be a sad, sorry situation after the funeral of the EU. In fact, I have lots of things to say about this insane dualism, no one should be in any doubt about that.

How We Found Ourselves in This Brexit Vote Bueno?

It is the year 2016 and the country’s Prime Minister’s having a whale of a time, you’d think he had won a lottery! He was so sure that the Brexit vote was just a mere walk in the park and those antagonistic Eurosceptics would keep mum. Haha! What a joke it turned out to be.

Now to rewind a little bit. This Brexit vote was not something that suddenly popped up from who-knows-where, and this guy back then had this ‘yes to self’ attitude and knew exactly what to do. Nah, this one was already quite visible on the horizon. James, my buddy – a great lad, who was all for Brexit for a long time – he had supported the idea of exiting the EU since it was impossible to determine.

“It’s all Brussels’ fault,” he would say, glass in hand. “They’re taking our sovereignty!”

Oh, forget it, I can say the opposite one hundred times, and you would still not believe me as popular opinion was overwhelmingly in his favor. Such a mood “downer” became prevalent, particularly after the 2008 crisis. The people were facing hardships, and the EU was just a perfect target for passing the suffering over.

The Brexit Vote Campaign: Now That’s Just a Show!

So, indeed, kids were playing and kicking balls among themselves and discussing politics in the street. If you had it you would never be able to leave your ear idle “about the bent bananas and fishing quotas” theme.

It looked like as if everybody of the “Leave” side had completed the ballot to win the lottery. “Take back your sovereignty!” they screamed. This board with some untruthful numbers about the NHS money and you were a good capital for the brexit campaign. Easy. Catchy.

So what about the Remain side? I think their strategy was weak. It was a real bummer, their whole campaign, to be honest. The message they were trying to promote was actually quite scary—Economic disaster—this constant chant. But, they only managed to scare the poorest birds out of their wits, after so many years of having hit rock bottom, wasn’t it?

I even once went to a local community center to see a debate about the issue, and I tell you it was not any less intense. Everyone was really into it, almost like the TV guys, it definitely wasn’t a staged event.

There was a fellow who really got very angry, he turned purple and he screamed shaking his index finger, “Through two world wars, we went, we can do without the EU!” I mean, how could you talk sense to him? It’s not really like comparing like with like, isn’t it?

The Night of the Brexit Vote: Blimey O’Riley!

On the 23rd of June, 2016, it was D-Day. Or B-Day if you prefer. Being wide awake was the real deal; I could not stop looking at the results of the voting, you see, it was a really emotional swing.
At that very beginning it looked as though the Remain team would be the winner, of course, I even uncorked a bottle of champagne around midnight. Oh, yeah, I was still too trigger-happy.

It wasn’t long before Sunderland declared its result. How can I put it? I was over the moon. My friends, all of whom supported Remain, didn’t know what to do and were totally shaken, but my neighbors, who had cast their vote for Leave, were outside setting off the fireworks. At 3 am! Could you believe it? Some people surely need to sleep.

The night wore on, and the entire picture of the situation evolved more explicitly. By the time the sun came up, all the votes had been cast, and Brexit was a done deal for Leave. But then again, it’s the nature of democratic countries, right? The cleaner, the more definite result was not overly joyful, though.

After the Brexit Vote: Not Quite Hades

If we talk about the period following the Brexit vote, a real calamity is the only word that fits. Cameron takes a train faster than lightning to demonstrate, the public was just giving the whole of Europe a big fat NO. The pound dives right to the bottom as if it were a rocket. And in a flash, nobody seems to understand what Brexit actually is.

What do you think was the most irritating thing? All of a sudden, those people who advocated Leave were nowhere to be found when it was time to leave. I’m referring to Boris and Nigel obviously.

And real, serious debates? May, sincerely, gave it a push for the obvious “Brexit means
Brexit.” But dealing with the EU was about as equally productive as talking to a mirror and expecting advice.

I wouldn’t even know how to count the number of times when “meaningful votes” either were anything but meaningful or didn’t take place at all. It was a replay of a sad version of Groundhog Day every time.

So, Any Bad News?

Since the referendum is over, many years have passed, and there’s hardly any chance to say the British are still in trouble. You, my good friend, have to guess it.
Speaking of my most intimate friends who gravitated to the Leave camp, I know for sure they are over the moon.

They said, “We are free at last!” In return, we had to go through so many steps and put ourselves through the trouble of trading with Europe. Anyway, I suppose nothing else can be done about it.
One thing is absolutely certain: the result of the Brexit vote has brought so much of a social stratification that its intensity was just unimaginable. Even the family get-togethers have fallen apart. My cousin Gav and I, we can’t still have a political conversation without yelling our heads off.

But come of it, you know what, we are British. Our being out of this situation and continuing our lives as usual is not something that will never happen. That doesn’t mean I am not allowed to grumble, does it?

To sum up, My thoughts on the Brexit vote

Like who cares! The results of the Brexit vote are no longer in question. The question is: Was it the best decision? I’m not sure. Did people’s vote represent their will? Indeed, 52% claim that to be the case.

One thing that we can definitely say about the Brexit vote is that it was a wake-up call that we all needed. It made it plain that the breadth of our division was much more than we thought. In the age wars, the young and old, the town dwellers versus the country folks, the haves and have-nots were really divided.

If there’s anything positive in the complete mess of the Brexit vote, it will be because we cannot overlook the existence of the gaps between us anymore. We must be actively communicating with others. Even when you think that the other person is just jibbering.

So can we expect that every single one of us will agree on whether the Brexit vote was the right decision? No way. However, we still need to find a way to be together even if we have completely different viewpoints.

We have a lot of issues that require our attention. For example, global warming. What about the development of AI? Constant threat of another lockdown?

My very final comment on Brexit is this: It’s done and dusted, it’s been decided, let’s go forward. And someday, maybe, we will laugh about those times. But I am not making any predictions.
All right, I’m off to make some tea. I’m extremely thirsty with the same old Brexit voting topic. Who wants to join me for a cup of tea?