If you voted for brexit did you get what you wanted?

Didn't vote for Brexit and I cried when I heard we had voted to leave. Having a simple majority for such a huge decision was madness. I grew up in one of the areas that voted for Brexit. They had seen a huge influx of EU citizens who were able to work for less in multiple-occupancy properties etc.. and would work for less money and therefore wages went down. So I could see why they voted for Brexit. I think those who did vote Leave were highly let down by the Conservatives. I do wonder whether people were so complacent about many things before the vote. I would love for the UK to have a closer relationship to the EU and maybe rejoin (if they would have us and if terms were not terrible).

What were you asking ?

Most people voted leave as they didn’t want us to have to bow down to mostly irrational rules and demands from the EU. I thought that was pretty obvious as every time the UK tried to implement our own rules to suit our own people, it was slapped down by the EU. Or the EU would force ridiculous rules and regulations on us. The fee they took from us for being part of this circus was absolutely huge, and made up of sums plucked out of their arses.

@KurtCobainLover How, specifically?

@KurtCobainLover - what was restrictive and what has changed? I would really like to know. Everything is worse now as far as I can see in terms of restrictions.

The vast, vast majority of people didn't know what they actually were voting for.

Surely that's not true. Brexit was debated for months and any information you needed was available on the internet. There was nothing but people on the radio, in newspapers and on the TV talking about leaving the EU.

They're loads of them. And yes I am glad.

It's black and now made in France.

And you know this how? I haven’t seen any news item which states the ‘vast majority’ didn’t know what they were voting for. You can’t just make things up to suit your narrative….

I voted to leave because I resented all the money that was being sent to the EU and thought it could be better spent improving things here.

There have been no improvements. On the contrary, things just seem to get worse and worse.

I also had reservations about unfettered immigration and a hope that some autonomy and sovereignty would help us.

I regret voting to leave and would vote to stay if I could rewind the clock.

I voted leave because I felt being in the EU was restrictive. I don’t regret it.

DM voted leave to reduce immigration and is cross that it hasn't happened. Of the two others I know, one thought we would turn into Switzerland, which would require a different type of Brexit, and the other thought it would be easier for their (non-EU) relatives to get visas, which may have happened.

Could some of the people who say they are glad they voted Brexit talk more about the reasons please?

I was never a staunch remainer and definitely saw disadvantages to EU membership from a left-wing perspective. However when I saw the tone of the Brexit campaign and the focus on immigration I decided to vote remain, because those were not my concerns about the EU.

It doesn’t seem to me that any of the issues people had with the EU, either from a left or right-wing angle, have been addressed. But I am not very familiar with the specifics and I would like to learn.

I don't really know what the point of it was either, or really how we ended up in the situation of having a vote.

Farage under UKIP had been gaining popularity on his anti EU stance and the Tories felt threatened. They promised an EU referendum if they got voted in, which they were.

The EU referendum was mainly held because of immigration. People were fed up with uncontrolled immigration. They no longer believed in 'experts' and were looking forward to sunny uplands.

Then Brexit happened and immigration increased and none of the promises such as millions to the NHS or control over fishing took place.

The UK had been sold a kipper and it's been disastrous.

If people respond in the same way you have "I am very pleased that I voted leave." With no reason given, it'll be a very boring thread.

I was on holiday when Brexit happened. You could ask me a different question though. Do I wish we could go back in time and stay in the EU? No I don’t.

In 20 years there will still be mumsnetters posting “are you happy you voted BREXIT ARE YOU HAPPY!?” every few weeks. I didn’t vote before anyone starts moaning at me, let it go!

That’s appalling. Is there no exemption certificate or … anything? I had no idea about this.

Well, "50% of the population" didn't, it was just over 50% of those who were eligible to vote and did so. Not 50% of the population.

But if you remember, of all the people who were eligble to vote, it was almost a 3-way split between in, out, and chose not to vote.

I was one of the latter. Hadn't a clue either way, and strongly beleive none of us should have been put in that position. I hate what it's done to people.

The vast, vast majority of people didn't know what they actually were voting for.

And I don't know a single person who voted for it who doesn't deeply regret it.

The post I did below shows that’s not true- a loss of 15% is significant. Lord Frost was incompetent but what made you believe that the people running the country were competent to negotiate a good deal? It’s been disastrous for small businesses. As for the vaccines, that doesn’t seem so clear. The UK took a gamble on safety and the vaccine we mostly used it was approved and obtained under EU rules. Wasn’t it – to a great extent - manufactured in the EU? There were problems after the AstraZeneca one couldn’t be used in people under 40.

I have access (through work) to some of the UK’s best economists and they rank Brexit, Covid and Truss as pretty equal…,

Realisation we aren't superior .....

Yes I'm also seeing people who voted for Brexit surprised that they got a Brexit 🤦‍♀️

But they didn't vote to stop them going out of the country - it was to stop others coming in.

I think some people have had the realisation we are superior to others and it's somewhat (surprisingly) surprised them!

I have people genuinely surprised they can't just go to their second home in Spain for as long as they want now - that wasn't what they voted for.

Urm - yes it was! I respected that you did so you need to respect that's what you got!

Yep. Same here. Happy to vote Brexit at the time, and still happy with my decision. People blame the downward turn in the economy and cost of living crisis on Brexit when, in fact, a lot of issues occurred due to Covid coming soon after which has affected how we live today far more than Brexit ever did.