Anyone feeling the country is dividing?

[Maz2444466]

I voted to Leave because I think the EU is anti-democratic and bureaucratic. I have absolutely no problem with immigration. I do believe though that integration is key for community cohesion.

I live in London and ALL my friends voted to remain. My best friend voted to Remain, I told her I voted to Remain as she thinks everyone who voted to Leave is racist and evil.

I feel like this referendum has created divides that were never there.

Is this just human nature? For people to follow the pack? I looked for a Facebook Leavers group tonight and everyone in it said how they love Nigel Farage. I don't.

I feel I can't relate to either side. I know this is a first world problem and I probably need to just get over myself but does anyone else feel like this?

I wish the government had made this decision for us!

I wouldn't know what class to put myself in

I know what you mean Macy

I've written to my MP. Even if it has little impact it's still better than doing nothing. What else can I do? I'm not willing to stand back and watch while the country crashes over the cliff. I think everyone should be trying to stop it.

Winterbiscuit I agree there has been hardly any representation of Leavers from the left or centre, or even centre-right. It's nearly all been from the hard right i.e the Sun and most of it is morally reprehensible.

I've started reading the New Stateman because it is the most impartial newspaper I can find.

Something that really has annoyed me in London is that our mayor Sadiq Khan has on his homepage it's now Londoners time to 'take back control'. And has been giving speeches about it, joking that he doesn't want to make London an independent state and blockade the M25 but it needs special treatment. I find it very irresponsible for a mayor to be fueling separation at a time like this and can't help but feel he's using the opportunity for his own political gain. I also think it fuels people's perceptions outside London of Londoners being pretentious. I mean I haven't heard Leeds talking about blockading the city! I'm a born and bred Londoner and this kind of reaction from our mayor and they way it represents London really aggravates me.

I agree with your last statement Maz, it would be terrible and unfair if London separated from the rest of the country, for people in and out of the capital. My city voted remain, do we get special treatment too? Sadiq Khan needs to think before he speaks.

I also think it fuels people's perceptions outside London of Londoners being pretentious. I mean I haven't heard Leeds talking about blockading the city! I'm a born and bred Londoner and this kind of reaction from our mayor and they way it represents London really aggravates me

Agree. We're made to look like twerps.

To be honest I'm not scared or worried I'm angry
I voted out because I done the research and voted for what I believe is in our best interest long term. I wasn't foolish to think it was gonna be plain sailing and yes we will have some time of uncertainty but I believe that we would have had either way

I'm angry coz it was a referendum fair and square and too many people think they can stamp their feet and write thier letters whilst accusing the leave voters of being racist etc..., showing a complete lack of respect for the majority who voted! Why should we not discuss our views and opinions openly and be adults in respecting other people opinions even if we don't agree with them ourselves

I find the whole reaction to the vote extremely childish!

Why are you angry??? You got what you wanted.

People don't agree with your decision and they're naturally upset that their futures don't look as bright as they did a short time ago.

If you were truly convinced that it was all going to work out great then you'd be happy now surely?

I am happy with the result thank you! I'm angry at being branded racist, uneducated and stupid! I'm angry and the complete childish behaviour of people trying to turn the vote and I'm angry that people feel the need to lie about which way they voted because it could cause hate towards them

It childish

There is a difference with remain voters being upset, worried and unsure and remain voters trying to upturn the result, accusing people of things and making us look stupid

Not all remain voters are carrying on like it!

Has anyone personally said to you that you are a racist? We all have to live with the consequences of this. Have you spared one second of thought to how non-British people are feeling now, with race hate crimes increasing by 500% and the threat of having to leave. I'm not responsible for your guilt.

I'm a remainer because I thought it was best for this country. Of course I'm disappointed, and the rise in racism has affected someone dear to me.

I wrote to my MP this week. He's a Brexiter and a Johnson supporter. I wasn't writing to change his mind, just to wish him and the other members of the house luck. It seems like parliament has gone mad and I think he'll need it

I'm not responsible for your guilt.

Louw hasn't expressed any guilt Namechanger. Not in the slightest. So you just sound arch-passive-aggressive.

Where's the 500% figure from?

I just posted this on another thread. It's from this link: spinninghugo.wordpress.com/2016/07/01/article-50-will-it-ever-be-invoked/
I've seen so many mixed views from leavers on all the different threads and I'm not sure what the dominant view is. Do leavers feel divided by the possibilities? I'm concerned that the stance of all the Conservative candidates for leadership is moving away from single market access towards immigration controls at all costs. Would be interested to know what leave voters think.

One of the central problems with a referendum is that it offers a binary choice, on this occasion In or Out. Within the ‘Out’ camp there were at least two strands. One group wished to regain UK sovereignty, but would wish to retain full access to European markets through the European Economic Area or some other arrangement. For this group, achieving that would mean keeping free movement of persons. The MEP Daniel Hannan would favour that option as it now seems would Boris Johnson MP. For others, regaining control over immigration, but at the cost of losing free access to the European market, was the goal. The Ukip MEP Nigel Farage favoured this option, as we now learn does Michael Gove MP.

One of the central problems with a referendum is that it offers a binary choice, on this occasion In or Out. Within the ‘Out’ camp there were at least two strands

So, so true.

Im a leaver, most of my friends are remainers. We haven't fallen out and have managed to agree to disagree.
At work, most of my colleagues are remainers, vociferously so. I found it easier to just say I hadn't decided/hadn't voted. Part of me is annoyed with myself for doing this, the other part just wants an easy life. It was the same after the election, I voted conservative and kept my mouth shut as my colleagues are all very vocally left wing,( think Socialist Worker on steroids).
I dont mind being a quiet leaver, I dont need to shout my opinions from the rooftop, and I can say what I think via the polling booth.
I accept other people are angry and upset, and I understand why, but I dont feel guilty or responsible for other's opinions.

One group wished to regain UK sovereignty, but would wish to retain full access to European markets through the European Economic Area or some other arrangement. For this group, achieving that would mean keeping free movement of persons. The MEP Daniel Hannan would favour that option

GraceGrape thank you for posting this. It's exactly what I voted for. In fact I watched Daniel Hannan's speech at Oxford university and was throughly impressed. He said he is a EU beurocrat and although leaving the EU would likely result in his job loss he's happy with that as its an unnecessary bureaucratic machine and in the long run we would be better off out of it.

I completely filtered out Farage's camp, his smarmy face standing next to his bus poster in glee furthered my disinterest in absolutely anything he has to say. I still think he represents a tiny minority.

I'm a British citizen who lives in another country in Europe and I'm still in shock. Have never felt more ashamed to be British seeing Nigel Farage in Brussels. The lies from the leave campaign, but also the level of debate in the remain campaign truly revealed the arrogance of Cameron towards the British electorate. A tiny proportion of a self-serving party for which only 37% of the population voted, is destroying Britain. You call that democracy? If Turkey wants to join the EU, it has to fulfil 35 criteria, democratically voted on by all member states. In 10 years of trying, it's managed to fulfil 1. But if only 35% of the population are willing to vote in European elections, maybe in Farage we get the politicians we deserve.

You know what. I'm bored of it all. We will all just have to wait and see now and hope the leavers take some responsibility for their actions eventually.

Perhaps if the moderate leave voters did speak about it, remainers wouldnt be able to say that the only leave voters they know are stupid and racist?
Because the leavers i have spoken to are stupid and/or racist.

That's one thing I agree with Namechanger22. Regardless of which way we voted, only time will tell now what's going to happen and perhaps when the dust settles friends and family who voted the other way won't be classed as 'Leavers' or 'Remainers' anymore but just friends that have been friends for years. Maybe I'm being idealistic but there you go.

I do understand why Remainers are upset, I would be equally upset if we chose to Remain, that's why I found Farage's gloating, self-congratulatory tone in Brussels so shocking.

Would love to know how leavers imagine the NHS is going to work after BREXIT. Gove has claimed that immigration will put it under stress but why not listen to the NHS that say that it is NOT immigration but Britain's ageing population that is the strain together with Tory underfunding - the lowest spending increase since the 1950s. 130,000 doctors, nurses and care workers keep it going. Migrants pay 2.5bn MORE in taxes and NI than they take out in benefits. The EU contributes billions in science and research funding. Where is that money going to come from?

I've never been on Mumsnet before and after being utterly shocked by the Leave vote, wanted to understand WHY voters were so anti-Europe and what they were voting For? Reading some of the leave responses from people on here, enough is enough...

I hear you OP.

I voted to Remain but even I've been 'yelled' at this week on social media by close friends for daring to say that I don't particularly like Jeremy Corbyn and didn't particular want to join the huge protest march in London today for a second referendum.

I feel like most of my Facebook friends voted the same way as me, but even I've been utterly bombarded with vitriol and endless endless Armageddon postings. My political leanings are somewhat down the middle with the Lib Dems and even in a bit scared by some of the rabid remain voters. I'm lucky I haven't heard many leavers.

I'm taking a FB/Twitter breAk as of today.

Yeah me too harryhausen I've concluded now is not the time for moderates voices to be heard. I'm taking a break from Facebook and social media till the dust settles.

As a leaver I know that if the vote had gone the other way, I would have been very sad and upset, but I would have accepted the vote and got on with making the best I could of the situation. However, one thing I do notice is the vitriolic behaviour of the remainers towards the leavers. It prompts me to wonder why?

I've seen this a lot. 'If Remain had won, I'd have been upset, but I would've accepted it and moved on'.

Losing was always going to be a vastly different experience for Remainers and Leavers.

It was always going to be much easier for Leavers to be philosophical about losing, because it meant the status quo. You know what that is.

For Remainers, losing the referendum has thrown the economy and the country's political system into disarray. The future is now totally unknown.

A small minority has voted in something that millions and millions of people strongly do not want. That millions and millions of people feel is going be harmful, long-term on a personal and social level, in a myriad different ways.

People are angry. And in a democracy, they're allowed to say that.