I regret the way I voted.

[lulucappuccino]

After a long day reading Facebook (didn't announce on there that I'd voted out), colleagues talking and family (who do know how I voted) complaining, I really wish I'd voted to remain.

I read a few bullet point articles and felt swayed by the amount of money were were paying to the EU. But I feel as though I'd partly not researched enough and also believed the hype.

Seeing the pound falling and friends worried for their jobs etc, I feel as though I've done something really bad. In fact, I'm sure I have.

Does anyone else regret the way they voted, whichever way that was?

just - Farage said back in May that if there was a 48/52 split he would push for a second referendum. It works both ways.

I voted Remain and am rather surprised that people genuinely think a petition is going to make much difference.

Unless it gets more than the number of votes scored by the Leave side in the referendum, then all it's telling us is that some people aren't happy with the result. No sh*t Sherlock.

I've signed it anyway, why not, but yes Democracy does come up with ugly and unexpected answers which we can't petition away.

I've also seen a petition from the Leave side calling Farage to be accountable for making sure that £350 mm goes to the NHS each week. Cue a lot of Leave voters being terribly shocked and surprised that a) the money doesn't exist and b) Farage is not an elected member of the government so has no mandate to do anything.

It's a mess.

Much as I would love a 2nd referendum with a different result

1. I don't think more than 1million people accidentally voted leave thinking it wouldn't happen. Maybe a few hundred thousand.

2. unless at least 17million people call for a 2nd referendum them it isn't really fair, is it?

3. some of the non voters didn't vote for precisely the reason that the OP (if genuine) should NOT have voted. In a referendum, a binary vote, if you aren't sure, or you don't have enough information, you shouldn't plump for one side or the other you should abstain.

Perhaps once the parties have got together and formulated what they actually want from Brexit and what they expect to get they could legitimately put that question to a vote. instead of asking people to vote on an promise of imaginary money for the NHS

4. The time to set up the rules and thresholds for the vote was BEFORE the vote not after.

I admire your honesty, I think many of the leave voters have been very naive (not saying all, but many).

I've also seen a petition from the Leave side calling Farage to be accountable for making sure that £350 mm (sic) goes to the NHS each week.

Why is Farage being held responsible for this? He is an arse and a fuckwit and an awful lot of stupidity is his fault....but that wasn't him.

Not his bus not his monkies.

It was on the Boris bus wasn't it? So why is nobody taking it up with our future PM?

The way I see the petition, it's part of this democracy. The ability to appeal a result. We use it in other circumstances all the time. There is a caveat about the numbers turning out to vote and the closeness of the vote, and I am exercising my deomcratic right to request that this be brought into force. It probably won't be.
It's not about being a sore loser. I didn't get what I wanted in the last general election but didn't protest.
It's the finality of this that terrifies me. The thing that matters to me (the environment) is I think headed for major trouble because of this vote so I am putting my name to something which basically politely asks if there isn't a way out of this mess. There is no going back and I want to be more than 100% certain that everyone who voted out would do so again, and not because they voted as a protest against Cameron.

Seeing the pound falling

seeing it drop really low for one hour then riseing to reach the same level it was in febauary and staying that way isn't seeing "Falling"

I've signed the petition but agree it's rather a case of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.

One thing you can do if upset is join a political party. I'm a lib dem and wouldn't be surprised to see an increase in numbers over the next few weeks. Suspect the same will be true of Labour & the Greens (& I hope so really). I have heard of some tories switching to the lib Dems (& presumably that means others are leaving the party). I understand why, but am a bit worried that it means the tory party will swing to the right if more centrist tories feel they can no longer be part of the Conservative party.

I admire your honesty OP.
I voted remain and would do so again.

I think the remain campaign could have done more to get a positive remain message out to the electorate, as well as a clear message about why leaving would be bad.

I think the media could have been more balanced in representing the remain argument. I think they were a bit "leaving or a close vote is the more exciting news story" They should have been more responsible. We should have heard the informed view of more experts more often.

I do feel slight regret at not joining more fully with the remain campaign eg. in my local area. But I tried to do my bit on social media eg. started a get the vote out - especially for remain - thread here on the day.

Hi - Europe is our children's country don't let it be taken away from them

Sign the petition for a second referendum and change the future - It's going viral and will have to be taken seriously

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/131215/signatures/new

Take back EU your county and stay in the EU for the sake of your Kids

Rosie

OP being a remain voter myself and having read a lot written by leave voters over the past couple of days, I've reached the conclusion that there were 3 kinds of leave voters:

1. People who genuinely thought leave was better for the country in terms of it's long-term future. Okay I might not agree with their decision, but fair enough, they are entitled to their opinion.
2. People who held quite strong right-wing views and only voted due to racist / anti-immigration views, and were mainly influenced by Farage. Depressingly this was quite common where I live.
3. The protest-voters or those who just wanted to 'make a point' without really thinking it through. I'm sorry OP but this is your camp and this was idiocy pure and simple. It was always going to be close referendum and every vote was going count. You should never have voted without taking it seriously - this was not 'Britain's got Talent', and if the type 3 voters had taken the process seriously we may well have got a different result. As it is now we face recession, major economic uncertainty, and political tensions throughout Europe and within the UK.

I voted to remain and would do the same again, however as it's very unlikely we will get a second referendum. I was absolutely devastated yesterday morning however a few points to consider are during the time we have been in the EU we have experienced strikes, fuel restrictions, the £ dropping to its lowest in 1985, the interest hike to 16%, repossessions, negative equity, the gulf war, black Monday, the recession, the Iraq war, the London bombings, mass immigration, the lehmans disaster and the financial crisis that followed after to name a few and we have survived so I am sure we will survive this, the future is unknown but we all need hope and to be positive.

I really doubt it will be taken seriously actually.

You should. Two of my brother's team at work are fully funded by the EU. They are now desperately worried. That will replicated in hundreds of households across the country who are directly or indirectly dependent on EU projects and contracts.

I agree with your points KitKat but I think there probably were not a million of type 3. I realise that we cannot know this, and I appreciate how frustrating it must be to hear people like the OP.

This has gone viral about just how gutting the result was for the young:

www.nbcnews.com/storyline/brexit-referendum/financial-times-reader-comment-sums-disappointed-brits-feelings-n598526

I voted to remain. I'm sure the op isn't alone in this. I just think that this has stirred up so much hatred and division, it has to stop! What's done is done, all we can do now is to pull together to try and get the best outcome. United we stand, divided we fall..

OP, don't feel bad!

I voted remain (and am very sad we're jumping ship) but it was a referendum and you voted, which is what you were asked to do, and the quality of information on both sides was terribly poor.

I think the petition makes a mockery of referendums - the people voted and now we've just got to make the very best of it that we can.

I expect there were many millions of "type 3" voters actually humphrey

I don't know HumphreyCobblers. I've been gobsmacked by how many people I've heard saying they were voting out because they 'wanted to make a point' or because 'they wanted to see what happened' or 'didn't decide until they were in the polling booth'. I honestly think a lot of people didn't put a lot of thought into their vote at all, or what the consequences might be.

Lulu, don't be so hard on yourself. Even if you had voted remain, the other side would have won because it wasn't hanging on your one vote. There was over a million who voted which swayed the results.

Everyone is afraid of the unknown now, but I honestly think it won't be as bad as they predict. Predictions aren't always right, after all, they predicted remain would win!

Just hunker down and watch and wait. Things will settle down. We are a resilient nation and we will be alright, just as we always have been in much harder times than this change could ever bring.

Just had my first
"Well if you don't like it leave" response

Can't believe it's come to this

I voted out knowing that there would be immediate consequences. But I really fear what the EU may become, I do not trust the EU to act in Britain's interest - and why should it? So I think the short term pain will be worth it in the long term. I appreciate I am not in a job funded by the EU so I won't be called upon to lose out there. We cannot act only for our immediate future, we have to look to the long term.

The EU actions of 'fuck you' upon our decision were entirely predictable and only go to confirm my feelings about why we are right to leave. The rise of the far right in many countries seems a reason also to leave (everyone else seems to see that as a reason to stay).

Too big, too unwieldy, to fiscally inept. Not democratic enough.

Since the referendum was advisory, if people genuinely feel they have made a mistake, they should shout about it. If the feeling is that enough people are now unsure, it might inspire political talks. This is not (yet) an irreversible decision.

Of course it might be a tiny minority of leave voters who feel regretful but it would be madness to go ahead with leaving if a large amount of people who voted for it have since changed their minds. Have they? You say we can't know this but we won't know it if regretful voters don't speak out. Yes - people should have researched more beforehand. But what - we go ahead out of spite or out of a sense of justice? It doesn't make any sense.

I suppose that it is likely the numbers who regret are small, realistically.