Have your frienships and family relationships suffered as a result of Brexit?

[Wormzy]

Just that, really. If friends and/ or family members have clearly voted differently to you, has it changed the way you see them or interact with them? Have friendships broken down?

I haven't been able to vote, but the outcome of the vote affects me disproportionately. Family members have voted Leave. There have been arguments, also between friends, some ended in loss of contact.

I wonder how the Brexit vote has affected others on here?

Not too much. I have a colleague who regrets her Leave vote, i just don't discuss it with her. And my MIL with moderate dementia who voted leave. Actually i don't really discuss it with anyone. I have some Lexiter friends. On the whole i believe the risk of division is too great for second votes etc so i don't discuss it with my stopbrexit pals either.

Yes. I had a huge altercation with my mum over her reasons for her vote. But I don’t really like her anyway

I'm lucky in that my family all voted the same as me. My parents are ardent remainers whereas quite a few of my friends have parents who voted differently and they had (and still have) many a heated argument.

In-laws are all leavers but no surprise as we've never agreed on any politics ever. DH and I usually avoid political discussion with his family as it just gets us both upset.

I have a friend that voted differently and once I'd got over my shock I've just avoided the topic rather than see her less. It did upset and frustrate me at the time but I'm not about to try to convince anyone to vote differently. It's my POV and we are all entitled to one.

Dh had accepted a job offer before the brexit vote which was withdrawn a week afterwards as the Spanish investors refused to sign off future funding as a result of the vote.
This effectively meant the company had to cease trading, so withdrew their offer. Unfortunately dh had already resigned, so spent 6 months unemployed which was terrible for us all.

My mum kept insisting voting Leave was right 'because of what the EU did to Greece' and I lost my temper with her and said she should be more worried that her gc would be homeless than about the Greek economy. Things were frosty for a while, but now dh has a new job and mum has changed her mind about Brexit due to the economic consequences we've already experienced, it is all in the past.

They haven't suffered permanently - yet! Most ppl I know who voted leave did so because they thought itd make things better not because they hated anyone. Most also genuinely didnt get how the EU works, which is fair enough i dont think many of us did lol.

I hold no grudges, the goverment should have done better in my view, put an actual plan to us instead of unicorn possibilities.

However one friend....ish. It's not how she voted it's the reasons why, very much of the attitude 'well I'll be fine so I dont care'. She KNEW this would hurt the poorest the hardest and went for it anyway because she's proud to be British or some shit. I struggle with her but that's not directly cos of the vote but more she has an overall selfish streak.

I don't put politics before friendship. I don't expect my friends to echo or agree with me. I think we learn much more from understanding people that are not like us so I have friends on both sides and in the middle. I think now everyone is in the same shitty Creek it's time to move forward and make sure all the people don't get sucked in with more lies and deceit.

No problems with family as we all voted the same way. Friends too, mainly, but one or two friends got quite cross, and took it all to heart, and still moaning.

Yes after 13 years of being polite and maintaining a veneer of warmth towards FIL we had a huge row which left me (factually victorious) in tears in the bedroom.

All triggered by FIL Reading the Daily Express outloud to us all and saying stuff like they (EU) already have control and "want to take us over" and "we give them vast sums". The row ended with me drawing a pie chart of how much the sum i.e 0.7 % of GDP is.

The debate included me listing all the things we have unilateral control of ie health, schools, universities,defence,military, inheritance, property, pensions, social care, hospitals, family law, local government, planning,fiscal policy, housing, income tax, council tax, immigration from Asia, Africa,America blah blah.

Also me explaining that we were relinquishing our shared say over food and goods and worker standards in France, Germany etc and him refusing to accept that we had ever had a joint say there. 'They' had only ever had a say in the UK

It then turned personal with him from no where saying he didn't care what I learned doing my degree??? He knew better. He must have been harbouring resentment at the fact I went to University for some time.

I haven't seen FIL since. Also a very public spat with a very good friend's Mum who we had holidayed with who was blaming the EU for the North/ South divide as a justification for her Leave vote. I haven't seen her since either.

I've had no contact with my entire family since the referendum. I live in the EU and the vitriol thrown at me, the blatant racism expressed and the complete lack of empathy towards their daughter/grandaughter/auntie/niece was all too much. It's completely destroyed my mental health. There's no going back from this.

Erm no.

I voted remain as did my dh. My dad voted leave. He is as entitled to his opinion and vote as I am. We don’t discuss it. You shouldn’t get in altercations about this. Democracy means everyone gets their vote to do with as they see fit. I am an ardent remainer but I still respect democracy and people having the right to their own opinion.

It’s like election time on MN. At those times, if you express any view other than the worship of Jeremy Corbyn then you are branded selfish and evil.

I discovered how disgustingly racist my mother and sister were. They voted out 'cause Farage was gonna get the Muslims out'. After a big arguement, they reported me to the police for being 'a terrorist supporter'. Twice. 🙄

Been NC with the pair of them since 2 days after the vote. Feel better for it too!

It's changed my relationship with FIL. We used to have enjoyable political debates, agreeing to disagree, but broadly understanding one another's political views. Now we can't talk about politics at all - and we have no other interests in common.

My dad voted leave but he is a very long-time eurosceptic who wanted a soft Brexit. I don't agree with him but it's a rational and thought-through position. It hasn't changed our relationship.

Otherwise I don't know anyone who voted leave and admits it!

The thing is, more people voted to leave than remain. It shouldn’t be shameful to admit and people have no right to chastise you for exercising your democratic rights. It’s astonshing that it is acceptable to demonise the views of the majority and say hateful stuff about them. I voted to stay btwbut still this behaviour towards people voting to leave is awful.

My parents voted leave because fishermen were being forced to change their packaging.

I am still puzzled by the majority who voted who can't actually say what they voted for that is not a 'soundbite' or what was not actually an EU 'issue'.
If it's laws that are an issue, somebody makes them. Brussels might instigate them but it is UK MEPs who discuss then ratify them (if they are doing their jobs).

demonise the views of the majority

It's really important in a democracy that people realise having a majority doesn't mean you are right.

As expressed on this thread some Brexit voters were racist, I am happy to demonise these views. I believe Brexit is wrong and feel these views should be challenged this is entirely democratic.

Well I'm closer to the "mainland" Rossetti family than I was before. No bad thing for language skills.

I wasn't able to go NC with MiL, as I already did that a few years back (nothing to do with politics). However DS has since gone LC, as she had a rant about "foreigners", forgetting that he is (as he put it) "half foreign, Nan".

I voted to stay btw but still this behaviour towards people voting to leave is awful.

Yes ... and no. For myself, in discussion, I've always tried to indicate that there were folk who had done some research and come up with some very valid reasons for a Leave vote. After all, there's nothing sacred about the EU, and it's far from perfect. Unfortunately, they ended being joined - if not outnumbered - by bears of little or no brain, whose voted was predicated upon any number if complete bollocks "facts". Or Brexitreers, as I prefer to call them.

Even then, if the vote to Leave did not risk unending 45 years of settled life in the UK, it wouldn't be an issue. The problem is now we are still headed into the unknown, over 2 years after that fucking referendum. And look what's happened so far. Racism has become acceptable, if not compulsory in some circles. People have lost, are losing, and will lose jobs. Prices have risen (along with inflation) while the value or our currency has sunk.

If nothing else, the economics of the past 2 years have made the misery of austerity worthless. It's all been for nothing.

So when you put those boulders in the blender, it's unlikely you'll get an opinion smoothie we can all sup at. You will get some very polarised and intense views.

I haven't even started on how the past two years have been a waste of time for anything non-Brexit. But what has actually happened since 2016 in terms of anything ? No new laws (except about ... guess what ? Brexit) So either there are no other issues in the UK today, or non-Brexit stuff - you know, housing, NHS, education, womens rights - is now on permahold.

I posted a while back, a podcast where Jess Phillips MP used some pretty choice language about the fact that the law which would have protected women from being confronted by their abuser in court had fallen off the timetable thanks to Brexit. It was ready to go in June 2017, only we had an unnecessary election. We won't see that bill till 2022 at the earliest. I'm sure all the women who are legally terrorised in court - where they should feel safe - take advantage of straight bananas and blue passports to make up for it.

Maybe the worst - they very worst - thing about Brexit, is it has unleashed the keyboards of people like myself. But it's the only power I have now. Stop Brexit .... or I'll keep on typing ....

I know who to talk politics with and who not to engage with about it.
I privately judge them. With my judgey pants.

I voted remain and know quite a few people who voted leave, my dad (racist), my 100 year old grandmother, at least 3 friends (we live in a town with a large polish community so I think that's got something to do with it) and my oh . We weren't together when the referendum happened. He voted leave for reasons like 'sovereignty', better trade deals and getting away from the bullies in Brussels. I don't agree with him but try to listen to his arguments as I really hope he's right and we will be better off.

My dad passed away so he will never get to see the 'independent' uk he voted for... anyone else I don't really discuss it. But I secretly think I was right to vote the way I did I don't think it's worth falling out over as everyone is entitled to their opinion. I just try not to talk about it much.

Yes. I actually don’t have any friends who voted Leave so that’s not an issue.
Mother and stepfather voted Leave and though I’ve taken a ‘it takes all sorts’ attitude to their right wing politics in the past, the weakness of their arguments for Brexit made me realise how much I despise them and people like them. It’s put another nail in the coffin of an already strained relationship and as others have said, there’s no going back.
It isn’t about not respecting democracy, it’s about looking at people you know who can’t see obvious lies, who have heard Farage and gone ‘I’ll have a bit of what he’s having’ - you can’t respect that.

for everyone who went NC or LC.

From reading this and other stories I think even if you disagree on brexit if your relationships are overall good it'll be no lasting damage. But if things were strained anyway

Nope none of my family and friends have even mentioned it to me apart from my mum and Dad, who feels the same as me.

It depends on why they voted Leave. I have relatives who voted for ridiculous (and factually false) reasons - but they already had a history of posting ridiculous, racist memes on FB so I wasn't surprised. (And yes, I know not all Leavers are racist, but let's face it those who are racist tended to vote Leave...) I have friends who voted because they fell for the the Leave campaign's lies - one whose husband's job is about to be moved abroad as a result of Brexit! - I can look past that.

No. Because it's ok to disagree.