To be astonished that wales voted to leave the EU

[ExecutiveFiat]

it’s one of the poorest regions in Europe.- not just in the Uk. It has received millions in investment, it will be fucked (like the NE and Cornwall) after brexit.
Just had a weekend in Cardiff, where I witnessed Brexit party supporters intimidating a polish couple on the street. I won’t be going again in a hurry. !! I know it was one incident, but i’m Shocked and dismayed 😨.

EU benefits can’t just be measured in cash in versus cash out though. Trade and exchange of ideas is what generates the wealth of a country.

I don't remember the gov asking people in poorer parts of the country with few jobs if they were happy to have thousands of foreigners move in?
It's a bit rich to call them xenophobic when all they want is to get on with their lives but someone in Whitehall decides they need to give up social housing to incomers and increase school class sizes etc. It's not as though these were refugee asylum seekers. They were economic migrants. The £ in their pocket bought them a lot more in their own currency. I don't blame them for coming to the U.K., I would have done the same, but it was a deliberate decision by Blair's government - anyway Brexits the result.

I’m Welsh and I used to live in the Welsh valleys. I’m a staunch remainer but many people I’ve spoken to voted for Brexit. The reasons really do vary, for many it was a massive fuck you to the Tories who have systematically decimated Welsh communities throwing them further into poverty. Many poverty stricken families were angered that their wages were being undercut by foreign labour which isn’t the fault of the Europeans rather it’s just a by-product of good ole capitalism. For many things had got so bad that they felt it couldn’t possibly get any worse and consequently they felt that any change would be better than the situation they were currently in.

Sadly many people read just the Tabloids which didn’t exactly give a balanced view. Many people didn’t really read the manifestos, didn’t really do the research and the consequence was voting to leave.

I think ultimately it was a demonstration vote. Many would change their vote given half the chance.

Someone mentioned Cornwall, which is my home, I was pretty shocked by their largely leave vote as well. My grandparents and parents still living there were devastated by the leave vote, they didn't get it.

My best guess is it's to do with fishing waters.

Of course, if you want to see how a small country with the right contacts fairs in the EU, look no further than Luxembourg a major power player with 600,000 people and have weirded huge power in The EU for the past few decades.

Hope you're ok OP and it didn't ruin your weekend

I live in Cardiff. Every city, every town has racist dicks. Cardiff will be no exception. It's just really unfortunate that you had to witness that

Please don't make sweeping generalisations about an entire country based on a weekend there.

Cardiff is generally very pro remain. Your argument applies to the whole UK, "AIBU to not be able to believe the UK voted to leave??" ... But we are where we are.

It's unclear how you know so much about the people in the altercation but I live and work here and haven't witnessed anything even remotely like that.

There are bad eggs everywhere but Cardiff is an incredibly safe, multicultural city. You seeing one argument between 4 people doesn't change that.

Oops! Posted too soon!
It's very unfortunate that you had to experience that, and those poor people were victims of their racist attack.
I'm sorry it's left you with a poor opinion of Cardiff, but I promise you that, for the most part, Cardiff folk are very nice and "remainy".

Were you here for the half marathon? Did you run?

I know the thread has developed since your OP, but I just wanted to come along and stick up for Cardiff!

Fuck the racist twats!

I voted to remain but get so fed up of the wide eyed faux disbelief on here.

We are yet to see how this all pans out, yet there's an accepted view by the hive mind of MN and the left that Brexit will mean the end of the World as we know it and anyone who voted for it is either an idiot or a racist. I have no idea why people are so arrogant as to think there is only one correct answer in all of this.

You've popped to Cardiff for a weekend and read some stuff online about EU funding VS leave voters in deprived areas of Wales. You haven't got a clue what it's like to live in those parts of Wales, what their political views and concerns are, or their reasoning for voting leave.

But everyone knows a Brexit post on MN gets a lot of traction, so by all means enlighten everyone with your vast knowledge of life in poor, deprived Wales.

You realise that Wales is governed by Labour do you OP? And tbf Labour are not working in the best interest of Wales. And Plaid Cymru are a joke.... Wales is in no man's land at the moment. There was a time when any person, animal or ornament, wearing a red rosette, would have got the Welsh vote. Since Corbyn began steering the Labour ship the Welsh are politically homeless. Maybe they voted leave in the hope that things will get better? They couldn't get any worse under this ignorant, deluded Labour Govt.

I'm from Wales and grew up a couple of miles from the colossal Airbus factory. A shining example of cooperation between EU members and employer of thousands of staff.

Meanwhile Wales has benefitted from enormous amounts of EU investment.

I don't get it either.

A lot of people in Wales are very parochial and nationalistic (I am welsh).

And yet the most culturally Welsh areas, which one would expect to be the most nationalistic, voted Remain.

starbucks I find the Welsh speakers to be far more likely to be remainers than the Welsh monoglot English speakers. Welsh speakers, in my experience, are far more outward looking and appreciate other languages and cultures, literature etc.

But that's only from the people I know.

" we have always had governments who allowed preferential treatment in public spending in Wales"

Can you explain how Wales gets preferential treatment through the Barnett formula, which is based on population rather than need?
Do you think it's good that the UK has the highest rate of inequality in western Europe? Do you think Brexit is going to help this?

" I find the Welsh speakers to be far more likely to be remainers than the Welsh monoglot English speakers."

This is true on average. I don't think we have clear stats by language, but we have stats by identification and about 85% of those who feel Welsh only (rather than Welsh, not British) voted Remain and this group correlates quite a bit with Welsh speakers. Prof Richard Wyn Jones from Cardiff Uni produced this research if anyone wants to look it up.

"Ceredigion voted to remain..."

Quite a few parts of Wales voted to Remain and polls now show a majority for Remain in Wales. I accept that polls aren't very useful with such a close vote.

The pp who thinks the Barrett formula favours Wales must be trolling. The way government funds are distributed is slowly killing Wales.

Barnett formula FFS stupid autocorrect

I live in the valleys, one of the more deprived towns. It’s definitely lack of information on both parts. A lot of the frustration is where the EU money is being spent. Roads and monuments for an example when we really need jobs and housing opportunities, so I think a lot of people believe we’re not actually benefiting.

" It’s definitely lack of information on both parts"

What is the EU was one of the most googled questions right AFTER the referendum. Lots of people had no idea what they were voting on.

@gwenhwyfar

www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/17646632.research-states-that-almost-half-the-children-in-three-caia-park-wards-are-living-in-poverty/

This is my area

Thanks Crotch. I did think maybe Wrexham. I know Cllr Harper personally and she's a lovely woman.

The part of Flintshire that I come from doesn't feel well off at all, but I have to believe the stats about the county as a whole.

A little early to say but I think we're having buyer's remorse already. Support for Welsh independence is surging as a result of Brexit and Plaid Cymru have now adopted it as policy.

I'd like to see more analysis (and I don't think it's a given that we'd be allowed to join the EU given that we've always been a beneficiary rather than contributor), but I'd be interested in Welsh independence now, something that I'd never seriously considered previously.

Over two hundred jobs gone in Merthyr Tydfil as a local furniture company closes citing Brexit as the cause.
That’s going to be the first of many.