I want people to tell me why they voted #leave

[AliceScarlett]

I'm feeling pretty shocked and scared right now.

Why did you vote for brexit?

On a personal note this has already cost my business. I buy from Europe in Euros. It was bad bad news today. Kicking myself for not putting orders in earlier this month.

Mango it's not your grandparents generation though, is it? If you honestly believe that our agricultural industry can be serviced by teenagers in half term then I invite you to come down here to Cornwall and show everyone how they're doing it wrong. What a ridiculous thing to say.

I don't think Mango meant hire a bunch of 14 year olds, stick them on a farm and leave them to it.

I think it was more a '14 year olds can pick apples in their holidays'

Which they can, can't they?

Mango it's not your grandparents generation though, is it? If you honestly believe that our agricultural industry can be serviced by teenagers in half term then I invite you to come down here to Cornwall and show everyone how they're doing it wrong. What a ridiculous thing to say.

And what a ridiculous thing you have just said!

As teens we all did the berry & tatty picking - alongside transitional jobbing seasonal workers.

That was in Scotland though so maybe things are different in Cornwall

NEWSFLASH - Not all LEAVE supporters are uneducated racist oiks

We were voting to stay in or leave the EU. There were many reasons to vote either way. Immigration is not the only issue. However, being concerned about the UK's ability to support immigration at current levels does not automatically mean you are xenophobic.

Not all LEAVE voters are rabid, bigoted UKIP voters. Many voted Leave despite the unfortunate public figureheads.

Most will have weighed up the arguments for each and made an informed decision based on personal beliefs and circumstance.

Yes, some of the BREXIT claims have been misleading. But REMAINers have also been economical with the truth. I don't automatically believe everything I'm told.

The NHS will not be sold off tomorrow. The EU does not fund the NHS. The NHS and our education system has been in crisis for some time - has no-one noticed? The current government decides on funding for public services, not BREXIT campaigners or the EU. Not happy? Blame the government.

There was bound to be a period of economic instability following a LEAVE vote, but, personally, I was voting for the future. We have made it through repeated periods of recession and will get through this too. The industry I work in has been badly hit in recent years, much could have been done by the government & EU to support it, but unfortunately this has not happened. I have no say in EU decisions but when it comes to home decisions I have a voice. Not happy? Vote them out.

Personally I am against the idea of a European superstate. We are far from the original concept of the EEC & it would be foolish to assume the EU will remain as it is for evermore. The future under remain would be as uncertain as a leave vote.

Re. workers rights - I would not vote for a government who were looking to abolish maternity rights, would you?

Cannot believe the hand-wringing and hysteria on here and FB this morning.

Hadn't read the whole thread when I posted but will do so shortly!

A few reasons pulled from FB by leave voters I know

Our tax credits were taken away when I got my bonus and immigrants get it all this person earns over £30k

our benefit bill is too high

refugees get first look in on council houses so families don't get them This person is 50 yo in a council house with several spare bedrooms they don't need/no disability.

these are not EU problems but UK govt ones.

I wish people would stop throwing the word 'racist' around without knowing what it actually means. Surely an 'educated' person would know?

"It has been shameful to witness a 'me/me' debate from a country that claims to look after the peace and security of everybody worldwide (and the country that built Europe with great cost based on ideals)"

I'm genuinely confused by these kind of arguments. Can anyone explain?

On the one hand people keep saying that leave voters want to go back to the days of the Empire.

On the other hand remainers keep saying that Britain should be leading/protecting/influencing the world.

Is there some kind of contradiction here?

It seems to be that leave voters want the complete opposite of an Empire. They want us to take a small, low key role where we are not very involved in international events.

here here littlefriend-spot on

Moody's have indicated that UK debt may lose its current AA status.

For this read higher debt interest on bonds.

Mango I seriously doubt it is considerably different in Cornwall, and I seriously doubt that teengers could service the agricultural indistry in Scotland either. I don't care what happened 'back in the day', it's not relevant. You simply could not replace the numbers of seasonal adult workers in agriculture with 14-18 yr olds during weekends and holidays.
I would also ask you why an agricultural employer would chose to employ an adult crop picker (from the UK or the EU) if they could employ a teenager in the dame role who they could legitimately pay considerably less? Would you do that?

I am not a racist, I am not old and I am not uneducated. My grandma was an immigrant and actually freedom of movement was one of the things that initially swayed me towards voting remain.

I voted leave because:

I am sick of the interference of unelected eurocrats in everyday life.

I cannot believe the way Greece has been bullied and the way the EU has allowed fellow EU citizens to live the way many Greek people are forced to.

The destruction of our fishing industry angers me.

The thought of an EU army terrifies me.

It is impossible to have a one size fits all solution to many of the problems we face. Each country in the EU is different, different cultures, different languages and different economies. None of them are superior, just different.

I am fed up of every argument about immigration and the EU being shut down by accusations of racism. Just because someone disagrees with you it does not make them a bigot.

I voted leave with a very heavy heart.

littlefriend You wouldn't but how many others who have voted leave would, once Boris becomes Prime Minister? He's got a lot of people on his side because he appears to sympathise with worries about immigration.

I think this referendum has completely re-drawn the political map. Labour are going to struggle to re-engage their grassroots voters. UKIP will do well out of this. I predict snap general election by end of year and huge Conservative majority.

Whilst I believe not every voted out on racist issues my dh did [sad

He did the whole Britain is full spiel but the one thing that settled for him was that talk about Turkey potentially joining in the EU. That was it. His mind was made up.

I sincerely hope that once the dust has settled everyone can pull together to make this work. Instead of bitching about who voted which way and why.

What's done is done, and hopefully cannot be undone.

I read the first few pages of this thread hoping to feel better about Brexit (i.e. hoping to be convinced it would be okay) but it has made me feel worse. Some of the arguments for leaving are so ill considered and ignorant it makes the fact that many Brexit voters get worked up about being labelled less "uneducated" etc seem laughable.

I voted Leave because I think the EU is failing. What is imposed on our Government has been undemocratic and I want to live in a democracy. Brussels have no idea the pressure of being in the EU has put on our resources and our finances. The human rights bill has been a nightmare.

I am educated and I am far from a racist or xenophobe. It insults me how many people think Leave voters were voting because of Immigration.

I believe in the Switzerland and Norway business model.

We will stabilise the pound - with the right leader - and I strongly think we will be better off in the long term. To question people who voted Leave is unfair and unjust but what do I know, I am ignorant/racist/xenophobic/uneducated

Farage has already said that there will still be immigration from EU countries after Brexit, and he has also said that it was a mistake to say there would be £350m for the NHS post-Brexit.

So I'm wondering what exactly the Leavers think we will achieve. Our Bank of England has earmarked £250bn to ease the situation as our GBP plummets.

NEWSFLASH - Not all LEAVE supporters are uneducated racist oiks

Not all are but if you compared the proportion of "uneducated racist oik" in each camp, the leave voter would have a much higher proportion.

NEWSFLASH - Not all LEAVE supporters are uneducated racist oiks

Not all are but if you compared the proportion of "uneducated racist oik" in each camp, the leave voter would have a much higher proportion.

I refrained from voting because both arguments were so flawed and after the build up/ no change dynamic of the Scottish referendum/ General Election, I had a false sense of security that nothing would change anyway. I thought we'd just wake up to a 'remain' outcome and it would be business as per usual. Perhaps that mindset is the catalyst for this result - that people anticipated big change in the Scottish ref/ General Election but no change came, so if people wanted out this time, they made sure they voted.

I'm not sure I'm making sense, but I think the above might partially explain the vote. Maybe.

I voted remain, but have to say, I was pretty undecided and what swung it for me were the views of many backing leave and that I did not want to align with those views. I agree with paddypants13. My pro leave views were not about immigration, but simple democracy. Directives implemented across Europe regardless of the differences of each country. Unelected commissioners being influenced by the lobbying of multi national corporations. The pro remainers have irritated me by comments implying that all pro leavers are stupid racists. It's a complex issue, and to deny that there are any sensible reasons for a vote to leave is plain wrong.

paddypants13 there are no unelected bureaucrats in the EU/EC. We elect MEPs every five years, they can get rid of members of the European Commission which is in any case elected every five years. The president of the EU stands for 2 and 1/2 years
All appointments are subject to a democratic process.

Turkey will not join the EU for at least ten years