...to be proud of my mum (more Brexit)

[Gert]

She's a self-confessed xenophobe, scared silly of immigration, believes we were better before the EU, but voted Remain on the basis that she believed it would be best for her children and grandchildren. She says she's 'had' her life (I don't agree) and that this referendum has gone the way it has largely due to baby boomers voting for their memories of the past.

I'm not saying she's right in her vote, but she's proved herself unlike the majority of this predominantly elderly village and I admire her for that.

My parents are both mid-70s and had no hesitation about voting Remain for the next generation. Am very proud of them.

My mum waxed indignant at the weekend about her generation only thinking of themselves.

A friends of mine surprised me, in a bad way, not for vote (remain) but for believeing the pen vs pencil stuff. Gobsmacked she fell for it.

Funny thing this; I voted out for the same reasons your mum voted in. I don't think I am a racist or a xenophobe but I do think it's time to put a stop to uncontrolled EU immigration. I am not anti immigration per se but I do think we desperately need a better and more targeted system.

If I had voted purely with my bank balance and self interest in mind I would have voted to remain. I have business and investment interests that mean I stand to lose out financially quite a bit in the short term and possibly in the long term too. For various reasons an out result will possibly put me and DH at a significant disadvantage but we voted out because we think it's the right thing for the long term future of the country and for our children's future economic wellbeing.

We think the same as your mum. Most over 50s have had a pretty cushy ride on so many levels compared to our children and grandchildren and yet we have made a bit of a hash of things in recent years and have left our kids a pretty awful legacy.

We want to do something to put it right for the next few generations, while we still can.

In that respect I think I also the serve the accolade of 'thoughtful, far thinking selfless voter' but I doubt many Remain supporters will be agreeing with me.

RosieSW, I didn't imply that all Leave voters are xenophobic and scared silly of immigration. My mum is - she describes herself in that way, and said she wanted to vote Leave on the basis of that and the fact that she feels life was better before the EU.

WeekendAway, I'd be proud of you for the same reason I'm proud of my mum (if you were my mum) - my point was that this referendum has the potential to affect future generations and that's what you voted for, even against what might serve you, personally, best.

My mum did the same and I'm really proud of her.

I find it odd that older people tended towards "out" I'm 59 and the first time I was able to vote was in 1975 in the EEC "join" referendum. My generation were keen to join and have seen the continuing benefits of membership. Going up a generation our parents were enthusiastic supporters too. I may have missed some of the benefits of older boomers but we have had it better than young people do now and should feel grateful.

Draylon, I really hope (probably naively) that our departure forces change, and that the ultimate upshot is a new dawn for the EU which we (and all the other countries considering exit) want to be part of. It might take 10 years, but it would be a great outcome.

thank you Sierra, you beat me to it.

OP have you any idea how patronising you sound about your mother voting 'correctly'?

Who said anything about my mother voting 'correctly'? You're misinterpreting me. The whole point is, she based her vote on what she thought was best for us, not what she wanted.

OK well you do sound patronising and ageist.

What a patronising load of crap OP. People are entitled to use their vote however they want.

I am a white, 50-something, non-university educated childfree woman with a well-paid job and a soon-to-be mortgage free house I bought in the early 90s that I watch rising in price by the hour, especially since eastern european builders did it up.

On the downside: my pension is a bit dodgy and I'm outraged at what low interest rates have done to my inheritance-boosted savings.

I still voted Remain though. But that was because it suited me. Why should I give you or your children my vote? It's mine.

You shouldn't, limitedperiodonly, you're not my mum.

I just admire the fact that as my mum, she went against her own opinions for what she saw as our best interests. And her own opinions were pretty strong ones.

She weighed up the options and voted the way she wanted to. Like everyone else does. It wasn't a humanitarian act.

My elderly mum did the same. PILs voted Out because they didn't think the EU had done much for them since they voted In the first time.

had done - hmm

Being a bit thick here, as it was a secret ballot, where do they get their voting figures from?

Was this exit polls (I wasn't asked) or guesswork?

My 69 year old mum is getting very cross with people blaming her generation as she voted remain.

I want to know when I can expect an apology from all those young people and their parents who voted Lib Dem in 2010 because they were promised abolition of university tuition fees.

That was a selfish decision wasn't it? And quite a stupid one too, because anyone could see it wasn't going to add up.

As a Labour voter I was a bit pissed off when the LibDems propped up the Tories and put my choice into Opposition. I smiled when the LibDems promptly reneged on their promise. What did the people who voted for them on that basis expect?

That's a bit like OP's mum voting in what she thinks are the best interests of her family. It's a selfish decision, but one she is entitled to take. I voted the same way because it was in my interests. I don't expect a medal and I'm not going to give her one either.

auldspinster I'm with your mum - I'm 67 and voted remain; not only because of my cares for my DC and DGC, but because I firmly believed that to vote leave was madness, given everything that I knew about the benefits of EU membership for our population.
If one more person makes a comment about 'selfish baby boomers', I might just deck them...

Wired world where you think those with life experience shouldn't use it but instead just echo what those without a lifetime of knowledge want

Very frustrated about the selfish 'Baby-boomer' accusations.

I voted Remain after undertaking masses of research about the impact of each option. Having spent years caring for my Daughter and my Grandchildren, putting them first and wanting only the best for their futures, I was determined not to destroy that future by getting my vote wrong.

I accept that 'Remain' was just my interpretation of the right way to vote and I respect that others came to a different conclusion.

However, I easily have 40+ friends / relatives in the Baby-boomer age group and without exception every one of them has independently told me that they planned to vote 'Remain'

Surely by now we can understand that the Polling companies don't have a clue about what is really going on. There was no exit poll taken in relation to this Referendum so just where have they got their figures from.

Setting generation against generation in relation to this outcome, will do nothing to help us decide where we go from here !!

My parents (both in their 70s) also voted remain. They live in an area that voted 65% in favour of the leaving and they read the daily mail! But they couldn't see the sense in leaving. I'm proud of them too.