Finally, the day has arrived.
After months (or is it years – it sometimes feels like it) of listening to politicians squabbling amongst themselves and being told by one expert that staying in the EU means disaster, and by another expert, that leaving means the end of life as we know it, we have finally been given the opportunity to express our own opinion.
And it is not just the politicians and so-called experts that have been divided on this, individuals have been arguing the case in homes, pubs, offices and even in church. The Archbishop of Canterbury has expressed his opinion, although the pope, so far as we know, has not, and we have even been told what the Queen thinks (or, rather, what certain papers want us to believe that the Queen thinks, which is not necessarily the same thing at all). A day has not passed without a retired general telling us to leave before the French take over Trooping of the Colour or some well-known business mogul forecasting the greatest recession in history if we fail to remain in. Even Donald Trump has expressed an opinion (although I can’t remember what it was, but as he probably couldn’t point to the UK on a map of the world, his opinion hardly matters).
Even here at Rye News opinions are divided. Two of our colleagues have gone public for Brexit, while another has handed out Remain posters with orders to put them up in our windows. I am sure the Prime Minister felt he was doing the right thing to give us a chance to vote on Europe when he announced the referendum a year or two ago, but one has to wonder whether he fully realised the size of the Pandora’s box that he was opening.
More people than ever before have been eligible to vote – some 46 million of us and while, of course, there will be those who don’t (or can’t be bothered) to vote, it seems, if Rye is anything to go by, that the turnout will be high. At the last general election this writer turned up at the polling station and there were, perhaps, three or four other people there. At the recent PCC election, hardly a sole darkened the doors. This morning, however, the queue at the Community Centre stretched from the tellers table right to the door and doubtless many of us will be glued to our televisions and radios late tonight and early tomorrow to see which way the country has swung.
But there is one, oh so important factor that none of us must forget, we have expressed our intentions, the die is now cast, and whichever side wins tomorrow, that will be the future for our country. It will be then up to us – all of us – to make it work. The result, we are told, will be close and this means that just a little less than half those who voted will be disappointed, but nevertheless it will be time for the arguments, the insults, the name calling to stop and for the country and its various communities – even down to our small one here in this corner of Sussex – to pull together to make the future work and to make a success of it. Surely this is the very least we owe to our children, grandchildren and those who come after them.
Great to see such a huge majority here in Rother,have decided they want out,of this twisted and corrupt, European Union.
I live in a country to which I no longer belong, a country I have consciously or unconsciously loved since 1940, a country of whose people 17 million voted to ignore history and humanity while waving their little union jacks and pretending they’re not systemically racist.
Their margin of victory might have been small but the effect is tsunamic and permanent – a consequence that should never have been risked in referendum. We elect representatives in government to make those complex decisions. Unfortunately the current Prime Minister turned out to be a short-term coward and a fool, using a referendum to solve a problem within his own divided party.
He has succeeded now in dividing and isolating England, condemning our long history to irrelevance, condemning also the United Kingdom to eventual Balkanization – armed barbed wire frontiers between North and South Ireland, and England and Scotland to keep out the dreaded immigrants and smugglers; refugee camps on the white cliffs when the French (quite rightly) decide immigration into England is the problem of our doorstep, not that of Calais.
The pebble in the pond will turn out to be a boulder. Over the next six months polite and considerate letters will be delivered: ‘we wish to give you proper and sufficient notice that our factory/bank/company/branch will be closing down when the exit from the EU and Trading Area is complete. Unfortunately after the Brexit vote we are not be able to offer you employment at our new future premises in Germany/the Czech Republic/Poland/Spain/Italy/Austria/Slovakia/Belgium…..’
‘….We have also had to advise British residents living within the EU that from next year they will no longer qualify for free Health treatment.’
Enjoy the fruits of your vote. Enjoy your new freedom. Enjoy the loss of regard and affection. Enjoy xenophobia. Enjoy ignorance. Enjoy stupidity.
Enjoy the arrival of the two and half million Brits who will have to sell (if they can) their properties in Spain, Portugal, France and Italy and return to the UK in search of homes and in many cases welfare.
Oh yes – and enjoy Boris and Michael Gove: the lunatics in charge of the asylum.
Being a Brexite supporter You would expect me to be on the other side of the argument. It was with some distaste that I read John Howlett’s comments on the result of the referendum. I could hardly believe what he was saying. I too love my country, and I am a firm believer in democracy. This referendum represented the right of people to settle their own destiny and have the right to elect and remove the people who make decisions in our lives. The majority of the people in our country realised that they had had enough of being dictated to by a bunch of undemocratic unelected bureaucrats making laws foisted on to us to which we had to abide. Of course we will experience some turmoil in our country whilst adjustments are made, but in the longer term I agree with Boris Johnson when he said that “this country can look forward to a more secure and more prosperous future if we take back the democratic control which is the foundation of our economic prosperity”. The 23rd June 2016 will be a day remembered when the people of Britain rose up against the contemptuous Brussels elite and called time on any further interference in our lives. It will be a day to remember that Britain had decided we should control our borders and feel free to make our own laws. I feel very optimistic for our future.
My reaction to the referendum result is by no means as emotional as Mr. Howlett’s, and I would certainly take issue with his condescending attitude to the electorate: “We elect representatives in government to make those complex decisions.” Wasn’t it those representatives who brought about the referendum in the first place? Anyway, a referendum is probably as close as we ever get to true democracy, with every single vote counting, a fact which has come as a surprise to at least one of the many “Leavers” already regretting their decision: “I’m a bit shocked, to be honest,” he said. “I’m shocked that we actually have voted to leave, I didn’t think that was going to happen. My vote, I didn’t think was going to matter too much. I thought we were just going to remain.” (BBC News)
And let’s face it, the news in the first 24 hours has hardly been encouraging, has it?
The pound drops to its lowest level since 1985.
Billions wiped off the value of shares. Just a blip? Perhaps.
Petrol forecast to rise 2-3p per litre in the coming week.
Britain’s credit rating downgraded to “negative”: “In Moody’s view, the negative effect from lower economic growth will outweigh the fiscal savings from the UK no longer having to contribute to the EU budget.”
The SNP calling for another referendum on independence, and this time I expect Scotland will go its own way, as it wants to stay in the EU, not be dragged out of it by the UK.
And what about poor little Gib., which we’ve elbowed into the ditch? Gibraltar, which voted 95% in favour of remaining, “depends heavily on its EU border with Spain”. The Spanish foreign minister is delighted with the outcome, saying that: “I hope the formula of co-sovereignty – to be clear, the Spanish flag on the Rock – is much closer than before.”
The Russians are happy, too. The mayor of Moscow Sergei Sobyanin gloated on Twitter that “Without the U.K., there will be nobody in the EU to defend sanctions against Russia so zealously.”
Meanwhile the Mayor of Calais is already calling for the Treaty of Le Touquet to be scrapped: that’s the one which allows us to get the French to do our dirty washing. The president of the Hauts-de-France region where Calais is located agrees with her: “The English wanted to take back their freedom: they must take back their border.” The French authorities had warned before the referendum that a vote for leaving the EU could see a camp with thousands of migrants being moved from Calais to British soil.”
And my personal favourite: Cornwall, which has received more EU funding than any other county (a billion pounds in the last 15 years), after voting overwhelmingly to leave the EU, has been seeking assurances on Day 1 of Brexit that the Government will “protect Cornwall’s position” by stumping up the £60 million a year in investment which it will no longer get from the EU. (Logic, anyone?) Wasn’t all this money that we are “saving” supposed to be diverted to the NHS? Still, you never fell for that one, did you? You did?!
All this in just 24 hours. Is the country emerging from a collective trance, realising that some of those other issues, besides immigration, actually WERE rather significant and worthy of serious consideration, and not just scaremongering on the part of the Remain campaign?
The march to the exit door is itself already showing every sign of descending into a disorderly rout. Leave leaders are suddenly hurrying to go slowly, telling us that the exit process may take some considerable time. EU leaders, on the other hand, who will have a meeting next Wednesday without the UK (get used to it, guys!) to discuss Brexit, take the opposite view that the process should start right now, so that they can push us overboard as quickly as possible. And if negotiations do start immediately, our team is currently headed up by a demoralised Prime Minister who has resigned, and was against leaving, leading a divided party which will soon be wrapped up in a leadership tussle, while the Opposition is facing its own leadership crisis. So who’s going to have an eye on the ball?
And what about immigration, supposedly the prime issue for so many Leave voters? The equivocation and excuses have started already: “Conservative MEP and Leave campaigner Daniel Hannan told BBC Newsnight he could envisage a situation where the UK had “free movement of labour” with the EU. Asked if he thought Leave voters had been deceived into thinking their vote would bring an end to the freedom of movement, he said: “…do not imagine that if we leave the EU it means zero immigration from the EU, it means we will have some control.”” Expect to hear lots more of this sort of thing in the coming weeks and months.
Still, allegedly we are back in control of our own destiny – hurrah! And Summer is here, so we can take a well-earned break from referendum politics with a holiday in sunnier climes. Too bad foreign currency is going to cost more, and if you haven’t already booked your holiday – tough! That’s probably going to be more expensive, too. Perhaps Leave voters prefer to stay within the cosy borders of the UK. After all, “abroad” is full of all those pesky foreigners who don’t speak our language and can’t be relied upon to make a decent cup of tea or a Full English Breakfast.
Tim Roche
The decision has been made for Brexit, please no more doom and gloom. We need to work towards making it work, most of us expected a difficult start but working together we can make sure that the transition can be made easier. Hopefully things will improve in time and we can go forward with confidence, and have some give and take on all sides.
The Scene: PM’s office, 10 Downing Street, Brexit plus 5
Boris: Thanks for inviting me over, David, are we going to watch the footie together?
David: A bit later maybe. I thought first we should talk about the plan.
Boris: The plan?
David: Yes, the plan!
Boris: Oh, you mean the room plan. Well, you’ve already got it looking rather nice. I’ll probably get a larger television, maybe a bar in that corner…
David: No, Boris, the plan for Brexit!
Boris: …ah.
David: What do you mean, “ah”?
Boris: Well I don’t actually have one.
David: Ha ha! Come on Bojo, I know you like a joke, but…
Boris: No, really, I don’t have a plan.
David: You’re kidding.
Boris: I thought you would have a plan.
David: Why on earth would I have a plan for Brexit?
Boris: You’re the PM!
David: I know I’m the PM! And I’d have been PM for a lot longer if it weren’t for you and your half-wit cronies upsetting the gravy train.
Boris: So, if you’re the PM, you should have a plan for Brexit.
David: Just a minute. You’ve sentenced me to death, and now you’re saying you’d like me to arrange my own beheading?
Boris: Well, when you put it like that…
David: You and your mates have just caused the greatest political upheaval in this country in a lifetime, and now you tell me you haven’t the faintest idea what you’re going to do next? You’ve had at least four months to start putting some sort of plan together, instead of which all you’ve done is swan around the country on your damn bus. I don’t believe it!
Boris: Ah, the bus. Well, you know me, David, I’m a bit of a pie and pint man. All this time I’ve been stuck in the capital doing that mayor stuff. Now I’m free of it I thought it would be nice to take a trip round the country, get some fresh air, visit a pub or two, play some cricket, get my face on TV. I do have electoral ambitions of my own, you know!
David: Yes, I had noticed.
Boris: The thing is I didn’t expect to be taken quite so seriously. I even painted a huge joke on the side of the bus, but people can sometimes be a bit slow on the uptake. I didn’t imagine for one moment that anyone in their right mind would actually vote for Brexit. Nigel Farage, obviously, Mrs. Farage, maybe…
David: That’s all very well, but now we need to decide about Article 50.
Boris: What?
David: Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. Once we invoke Article 50 the process of leaving the EU really begins.
Boris: Yes, yes, of course, I knew that. Well, I’m your man for that. I’ll send them the bill tomorrow.
David: Not invoice, invoke! The EU expects us to make a formal declaration that we are leaving.
Boris: Fair enough. You’re off to Brussels tomorrow, aren’t you? I’ll leave it in your capable hands.
David: I’m not doing your dirty work. That’s a job for the next leader.
Boris: Oh, well, that’s me, isn’t it? I suppose I’d better go and tell them…
David: Hang on, you’re not the leader yet. There has to be a leadership contest first.
Boris: Oh God. How long is that going to take?
David: We should know the result by September.
Boris: Well, that’s fine. There’s no hurry, after all. We’ll keep them waiting for a month or two. Meanwhile, maybe you could get the ball rolling – have a quiet word with the French and the Germans…
David: They won’t talk to us.
Boris: What! Why the devil not?
David: They don’t want us dragging our heels. They want us to get on with Article 50 and get it over with. The thing is, we thought we were getting shot of the EU. But now it turns out they’re just as keen to get rid of us.
Boris: Damn cheek! Trust the Europeans to get everything back to front. What about the Russians? We can promise to ease up on the suctions if they give us a hand.
David: It’s sanctions, not suctions, and Russia isn’t even in the EU.
Boris: It isn’t? The tsar’s against it, is he?
David: [sigh] The bottom line is this. We don’t have a plan, we won’t have a new leader for another 3 months, the EU leaders are breathing down our necks to invoke Article 50 right now, and once we do we’ve got to fit some very complicated negotiations into a very short space of time. The clock will be ticking.
Boris: Well, it’ll only take a day or two, won’t it?
David: A day or two! Two years is going to be a tight squeeze, especially as you don’t even know where or when or how you’re going to begin.
Boris: Gosh. This is all turning into a bit of a Horlicks. But listen, I’ve got an idea!
David: I’m all ears.
Boris: Before the referendum, no one really knew what would happen if we voted to leave. Now it’s pretty obvious that the result is a total shambles, I don’t think anyone here is going to be too upset if we never invoice this Particle 50 thing. So we just need to sort out the Europeans. My plan is this: we’ll arrange a banquet for all the EU leaders. I’ll put on my clown suit and hide inside one of those huge wedding cakes. Once they’re all seated, I’ll spring out of the cake and shout “GOTCHA!!!!. You didn’t really think we were leaving, did you?”
David: I like the idea of the clown suit, I’m not too sure about the rest… I really don’t think it’s going to work.
Boris: Hmm, we’ve opened a real can of worms, haven’t we? Still, it’s not all doom and gloom. Look, we’re doing quite well in the footb… Oh.
Tim Roche
Mr Howlett, I am neither ignorant or stupid and definitely not racist, but I do realize we are an island and not that huge. We do need to control our immigration in a fair manner to all who wish to come to the UK, and a new way of achieving this must be sought. And so far neither Boris or Michael Gove are in charge. We can become independent of Europe, I know I voted for Europe in 75, but I was voting for trade only, we were not informed about the rest of the changes that have come along since then.