Post-Brexit Blues

Goodness me, Britain has had an interesting few weeks after voting to leave the EU!

I was devastated about the outcome of the referendum, not just because my wife is Polish, but because to me it seems to be a gigantic step backward. At a time when there are huge problems with extremism and wealth distribution, I truly believe that we should be working together rather than putting up barriers.

I admit that I was a little simplistic in my views of the Leave campaign, regarding it as a movement motivated by irrational racism and xenophobia. The truth is more complicated than that, and people voted to leave for many reasons: fear of extremists, objection to immigrants being given preferential treatment over British peoples, austerity measures imposed by the current government which left many people with the feeling that they had nothing more to lose by voting to leave, the desire to stick two fingers up to politicians, a simple extension of the sense that the British have never really felt European. As one lady interviewed by the Adrian Chiles on the BBC put it: all of these reasons were like separate rivers of water which flowed in the same direction and pooled together. This was how the Leave campaign overwhelmed the Remain camp.

My wife and I were in Poland last week (we had joked about her not being allowed in the country but we’re not laughing now) and there was nothing in the news except Brexit. Well, that and Euro 2016. I don’t think people who voted to Leave really understood the effect it would have: it was as a big an event in the rest of Europe as it was for Britain.

And what consequences have we seen to date? Far-right groups across the EU are clamouring for referendums in their own country, in the UK there has been a sharp rise in hate-crime against Eastern Europeans and non-whites, and the British pound is plunging. Then, of course, there has been the rather incredible political turmoil within the Conservative party: David Cameron resigning, Michael Gove stabbing Boris Johnson in the back by entering the Conservative leadership contest, Johnson conducting an astonishing U-turn by ruling himself out of the contest, Gove being eliminated from the contest after being well and truly branded as a serial back-stabber (which he is, having turned on Cameron and Johnson, both friends of his). The likely new Prime Minister will be Theresa May.

It’s incredibly difficult to know what the future will hold. The UK is certain to be torn apart: Scotland will get another referendum and will leave. Wales might follow. The Bank of England interest rate might fall slightly, but it’s already at 0.5% so it can’t fall too much farther. Economic turbulence will be long-term and unpredictable.  The UK, or what’s left of it, will just have to make the best of things, which won’t be easy, because the EU is genuinely furious with us.

All of this has really made me think about the important things. I have a house over my head, a good job, a loving wife and immediate family, two adorable cats, and lots of books. Will Brexit really affect any of these things? No, probably not. That doesn’t mean Brexit isn’t important, just that we need to keep things in perspective. In particular, my grandfather is very ill at the moment and in all likelihood he will die soon. At the moment this is all that matters to me: making sure I see as much of him as possible. I’ll make the most of what I can, and isn’t that what we all have to do?