I voted Leave but don't deserve abuse for it !!!!

[AmyWatt1972]

Yesterday I voted to leave after months of thought about all the main issues regarding membership.

I decided to leave based on sovereignty, I don't want a closer EU/United States Of Europe. I don't want my son to be in an EU army.

Immigration and economics for me were lesser issues. But still influenced my vote.

The names on here and Twitter that have been directed at leave voters has astonished me.

I am not uneducated, racist or xenophobic. I simply want the best for my country and that IMO is leave and I am overjoyed with the victory today against all odds.

Maybe if those on the remain side looked more into the arguments instead of name calling it would have been a different result.

It shocks me that labour supporters on Twitter are saying these horrible names against leave voters, but they need us to get their seats in the north, I don't think it is a good idea to insult your own base.

Even on mumsnet rhetoric has been appalling, I have had posters say they can't bring themselves to speak to leave voting parents.

Why can't you just accept maybe that leave possibly has a better campaign/arguments.

This idea that many leave voters regret the vote is wrong, everyone I know who voted leave is in a joyous mode today.

Can we just move on now and accept the result instead of insulting 52% of the population.

Well you have got what you wanted OP, your "own country back". Good for you

Absolutely fine to have a view, we are all equal - one vote one person but unacceptable to insult other people however they voted , that is bullying.

IHaveHadHOW: I am sure Bengal knows that London as a whole voted Remain. You appear not to understand how a referendum works. It isn't the same as for a General Election.

There's a specific topic for this ---->

Anyone who voted Leave because they think it'll mean less immigration is going to be very disappointed.

shariamom said: Perpendicular - I voted leave, primarily because we needed to get control of our country back, to get control of our borders back. Facts are facts, and the fact of the matter is this country is full up. We can't keep on taking immigrants like we have been. The time has come to close the door. I can remember a time before the EU. It was a better time. Life in Britain was better and safer then. I voted leave to return Britain to that time. It's time to ensure Britain is for the British. As a white person, I don't like feeling like an ethnic minority and have my rights trampled on in my own country thank you very much.

Hideous and just plain wrong. I was in my teens when the UK joined the EU. The UK already had very high immigration from the countries that used to be part of the Empire. The number of non-white faces was increasing year on year and that had absolutely nothing to do with the EU and everything to do with our colonial past.

Also, to state the blindingly obvious, the vast majority of people who have moved here from other parts of the EU are white and of Christian heritage.

As for life in the UK being better and safer before EU membership - what planet are you living on? In the years following WW2 we were involved with lots of wars around the world, again mostly as a result of our colonial past and 'special relationship' with the US, nothing whatever to do with the EEC (as it was then). Within the UK, we had the Northern Ireland troubles, which were not confined to NI but also led to bombing in other parts of the UK. We were in the Cold War, with a real threat of nuclear war at times.

The 1970s in the UK were not a good time. We had rampant inflation, increasing unemployment, industrial unrest and economic chaos. The International Monetary Fund had to bail us out.

And as for the poisonous nonsense about 'having your rights trampled on', what on earth does that mean? Please give clear, factual examples to explain what you are talking about.

MumOnTheRun
How about you stop shit-stirring?

I'm with you OP. It's a shame the Remain side couldn't engage in reasoned debate throughout the campaigning without resorting to name calling and accusations of xenophobia

I just had a third wiped off the value of my pension, two of my brothers are losing their jobs and my DH's promotion won't now go ahead - yes, all as a direct result of the vote. So pardon me if I can't find a lot of sympathy for you.

I can remember a time before the EU. It was a better time. Life in Britain was better and safer then. I voted leave to return Britain to that time.

I can also remember life before the EU. Better and safer? We had rampant sexism and racism. We had the three day week. We lived in an unequal society where the majority of working class people wouldn't even contemplate a university education because it 'wasn't for the likes of them'. We had regular power cuts. The house I lived in had no bathroom. I expected to be groped by older men at work and just suck it up because that's what men did.

There were good things, too, but I can't actually believe that ShariaMom thinks these were golden days. But then she appears to believe in time-travel ("I voted leave to return Britain to that time") so she may not be the brightest button in the box...

What about the part where Britain went cap in hand to the IMF because British economy was a wreck. That's all I could think about when Leave were spouting "But we're the 5th largest economy in the world!" It will be lovely to return those days, won't it.

The only Leave voters I'm angry with are the ones who seem to now be saying "Oh, I didn't realise all this could happen." Osborne rounded up economists all over the world & Leave dubbed the message "Project Fear". Is that why the msg didn't get heard? Bah.

I voted leave, primarily because we needed to get control of our country back, to get control of our borders back. Facts are facts, and the fact of the matter is this country is full up. We can't keep on taking immigrants like we have been. The time has come to close the door. I can remember a time before the EU. It was a better time. Life in Britain was better and safer then. I voted leave to return Britain to that time. It's time to ensure Britain is for the British. As a white person, I don't like feeling like an ethnic minority and have my rights trampled on in my own country thank you very much.

Just a little note of this. The Britain you and I suspect many leave voters are trying to get back to was built on fruits of colonial bounty (aka the unprincipled exploitation of other countries' resources) and doesn't exist anymore. Moreover, you'll find that a lot of the immigration you object to is people from those exploited postcolonial nations arriving on your doorsteps having been brainwashed about the motherland. The rest of it is the fruits of Britain's handiwork in the Middle East. As pp has said the majority of EU immigration is white and christian. Reap what you sow and all that.

Anyone voting to leave because of immigration must have been devastated to hear Daniel Hanna on Newsnight last night. Wanting something like the Norwegian model, to retain access to the single market. And acknowledging that this will mean keeping free movement.

Daniel Hannan, rather.

Another way of looking at it is... If London was not so densely populated (more greenspace/ less paving, buildings) then there would have been less pluvial flooding on the 23rd.

Over 1/3 of the land in London is public parkland but don't let facts interfere with your rant.

We danced in the kitchen this morning and will celebrate with a toast to British sovereignty tomorrow

This is one of the most bizarre comments ever, and shows a complete lack of understanding as to what you were voting for 'British Sovereignty' as you put it is likely to be gone forever which makes me extremely sad I have no idea why that would make you dance you around the kitchen.

georgetteh you have posted a lot on this thread about the impact on the union of Scotland, England and Wales.... have you forgotten somewhere???

I am in NI and am very disappointed at the vote. Like Scotland, the majority here voted to remain but unfortunately that wasn't enough and we are stuck now with 'leave'. I believe this will have a massively negative effect here. So many projects have been funded for years by EU Peace funding, where do they stand now? For example I worked for years in a childcare centre in a rural area that enabled parents to obtain affordable childcare and therefore work - this was/still is heavily subsidised by EU funding. There are many other projects here funded in the same way. Due to the 'troubles' NI receives huge amounts of EU funding.

I voted not just thinking of myself and my family - but all of NI - as we are in a very difficult position being joined onto Ireland, which remains in the EU. It is believed that many businesses will simply step over the border to enable them to still enjoy the benefits of EU membership. Which is fabulous for Ireland, but not for NI.

British sovereignty means that parliament is the supreme legal authority in the UK. Why are people so delighted by that?

First of all, we are not fully independent. We are still members of the European Council (hello, Court of Human Rights), the UN, and Nato. We still have to negotiate with other world leaders. And we'd be thoroughly fucked if we chose not to.

Secondly - Scotland wants to leave and probably will, about half of Northern Ireland wants to reunite with the rest of Ireland - which is we remember our fairly recent history could turn extremely nasty if we're not careful (or if we end up with a floppy haired blunderbuss of a PM) and Spain is interested in taking Gibraltar back. Our 'sovereignty' is going to be the supreme authority over a rapidly shrinking land mass

And third - Some people may choose to wet their knickers over the fact that there are a few less leashes holding George Osborne back, but for people like me who may rely on working tax credits or other benefits, it's terrifying. Remember that this is the man who threatened to go after pensions if we left. I can only hope that shortly after our two years in the EU are up, the Tories get voted out, because once we no longer have to adhere to their equality laws there's not much stopping George Osborne from fucking over the vulnerable, in the name of British sovereignty. Erm, yay?

The situation for all of you in the north of Ireland is so worrying, MissDuke, I agree. Jobs and prosperity, which the EU played such a huge part in providing, are always at the heart of sectarian violence. If unemployment rises and those with strong opinions are out of money and have a lot of time on their hands, violence is likely to increase. Especially if alongside this tensions are raised by bringing back border checks - it doesn't really bear thinking about.

The UK government needs to put our money where our democratic mouth was and increase spending massively, and quickly, to the north of Ireland. (Which I suspect will be to Wales' detriment, since they voted to leave and will also lose millions in EU funding, but that's another discussion.)

The history of England telling the people of the north of Ireland what to do against their democratic will is not pretty, and in my opinion is why this referendum should never have been called.

Op bet you live in a shit small town and have one gcse

I'm very worried about what will happen in NI as a result of this. This couldnt have come at a worse time, so close to the 12th. Last year's 12th was awful enough. Especially if this talk of a united ireland doesnt quietly fade away.

The NI peace process was in increasingly serious trouble before this vote. It could become screwed.

I briefly did a bit of reading yesterday and this may be innaccurate but i read that 85% of the funding for our peace process comes from the EU.