Brexit:The aftermath

To say that I'm gutted by the decision to leave the EU would be an understatement.

I went to bed last Thursday night quietly confident that the Remain vote would scrape a narrow victory. How wrong I was. I don't think I've ever been so disappointed by an election result in my life.

I'm not going to pretend that I'm happy with the result and it annoys me when people who voted Leave keep telling me that we all need to accept the result and unite for the good of the country.

Sorry I'm not interested. This is the problem with having referendums. They're divisive, splitting family, friends and partners.

I'm firmly of the view that the country has made a massive mistake and I resent the attitude of: 'We're Britain, we'll be alright, we can do this'

Really? The country is in chaos! The Prime Minister has resigned, the opposition in disarray and it's clear that the leaders of the Leave Campaign,
Boris Johnson and Michael Gove don't have a plan for what happens next.

It's clear that they didn't really think they were going to win, where the hell did Boris disappear to over the weekend? A total lack of leadership.

What annoys me the most about the referendum and it's something I mentioned in my last post is that it was a mistake to have a referendum. The problem with referendums is that people make their choice based on a whole range of different factors.

Immigration was the defining issue for a lot of voters but the question of whether you think there are too many immigrants coming into the country is too simplistic when considering all the pros and cons of maintaining EU membership.

What really annoyed me is the likes of Michael Gove encouraging an anti establishment, anti intellectual approach to the vote, telling voters you can't always believe and trust experts and elites. It's a bit rich coming from someone who is part of the establishment.

I don't know enough about the issues so of course I'm going to listen to experts in economics or from business who can help inform me. But sadly what's clear is that sometimes you can give people all the facts and it will make no difference.

The vote has shown a kind of anti establishment backlash from a lot of working class voters. The so called 'left behind'. Those who are frustrated with the status quo, who feel rightly or wrongly that their identity is being eroded. These are all valid points but they don't necessarily relate directly to the question of EU membership.

What's really been worrying is the rise of the racism and hate crimes against Eastern Europeans and British Black and Asian people. As someone who's roots are in the Caribbean and who's family have lived here for over 60 years it makes me angry that this vote seems to have given some idiots the right to openly express bigoted and racist abuse at people.

At the moment I feel the country is in meltdown and I'm angry with our political leaders for putting the country in this position. It didn't have happen. We may be leaving the EU but I still want to have as close a relationship with Europe and the EU in the future.