What do they want?

[Theyreeatingthedogs]

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/may/17/essex-thurrock-grays-views-brexit-eu-referendum

They weren't happy. They voted for Brexit. They got it. They aren't happy. What do they want? AIBU to think that they'll never be happy and whatever happens they'll moan, moan, moan about any government?

Brexit, was only Brexit in name. That is why they are not happy. Go read.

They'll never be happy. They don't understand how the world works and believe in UK exceptionalism. They want the moon on a stick.

Ah. That'll be why the economic impact on the UK since Brexit has been so damaging.

They don't know, but they WANT IT NOW!

Um, no, we literally left the EU. That's what brexit is. It's had its impacts,we felt them.

These people feel like we never left the EU because it didn't have the effect they thought it would, which is what lots of people tried to tell them before they voted for it.

What was it that you wanted? What should Brexit have looked like? Summarise your ideals.

Nigel Farage's entire modus operandi is making people feel they got screwed over. The original referendum question was just in or out so theoretically we could have had the softest of brexits while still upholding self harm democracy. He is absolutely brilliant at that. The tories aren't brilliant at anything but they try to learn and mimic what works well for him.

Labour's mistake is that they are trying to improve the situation by stealth. Rather than clearly saying that we tried brexit and these are the positive effects and these are the negative effects and let's try to undo the negatives they want the population to believe that they agree with everything thst Nigel farage touts and a large part of the british population wants while quietly improving things.

Yes, exactly!😀

More seriously, they are poor, from an area with the country’s highest reported rate of ‘life dissatisfaction’, not politically literate, and feel disenfranchised, and, as the article itself makes quite clear, saw the Brexit vote primarily as a way of signalling this, plus they understood it to mean that some economic benefits would accrue to them from money they believed would be ‘saved’ by leaving the EU. Their lives haven’t improved, and they misunderstood what Brexit would mean, and/or were fed misleading statistics by people with no idea how hard their lives are.

I get this and used to be sympathetic, but I'm ashamed to say, I've lost patience.

If one is politically disengaged, then it tends to be that one doesn' t vote. Frankly, that would have been fine under the circumstances.

What upsets me about some of the Brexit voters, is the unshakable belief they know what they are talking about, despite being unable to convey the slightest of arguments. I think this is because they are think they are "better" than the rest of Europe. There is huge undercurrent of racism as well .

The vast majority of these voters have had access to the best of years the UK has ever seen. Free education, free healthcare in its heyday, free dentists, council housing, pensions at relatively young ages etc... I get that they may not have accessed said education but honestly, how many people "poor, disenfranchised" in the World have had access to so much. Especially with a relatively "poor education".

They want their towns to be thriving and jobs that give them divinity and their lives meaning. They want community and a fully functioning health service. Brexit was never going to give them that but they believed the lie that it would. Now many want to barricade Britain and not let in a single immigrant - because they’re now being fed the lie that finally, this will give them what they want and need.

I don't believe this.

I think the majority of Brexit voters simply don't want immigrants. And they regard the recent trade deal with India as a betrayal because of this view.

they didn't care if people lost their jobs or if the UK was worse off as a result.

As for ignorance, it doesn't take much effort to find out more information about anything.

I am pleased Starmer is aligning the UK more with the EU but really I think the UK should feel more of the chill wind outside of the EU so the ignorant perhaps learn to understand better.

I now have dual citizenship and live in an EU country. If there were ever another referendum on UK rejoining the EU, I am not sure I would vote yes. I want the EU to survive and thrive and I don't want troublemakers like the UK who expect special treatment or Hungary for that matter as part of it.

I mean I believed they were poor but no excuse for ignorance

There is an excuse for ignorance, we have a rabid right wing press and there's little balance in the media.

Why has that fuckwit Farage been on Question Time 38 times?

People have been screwed over for years by neo liberalism. They work hard and aren't seeing a return for that.

1/3 children are in poverty, schools are crumbling, millions are using food banks, people are dying in A&E on the floor and the number of millionaires keeps growing.

Life is hard and the finger is pointed at immigrants as the reason for that.