Reasons as to why you voted leave?

[Firstimemam]

Ladies & Gents,

This is really old news but I am new to mumsnet & would be interested as to why exactly you voted "leave" rather than "remain". Just your very honest opinion, I am not here to judge, just very intrigued.

@elasticFantastic
Thank you, for saying that
I've always avoided Brexit threads because of the unending nastiness from each side. I've stated my position and that's it

@bert3400
I've tried to state my position clearly before but I've always been drowned in the pro EU posts.

It costs €114million a year for the move between Brussels and Strasbourg.

I didn’t vote. I was more leaning towards leave but at the same time I wanted to stay in IYSWIM so I didn’t know which way to vote.

I was leaning towards leave because we have uncontrolled immigration and a shit selfish government that doesn’t build the housing/schools/hospitals needed for the 300+k people coming here every year. But I want to stay in the EU :( so yeah.

@Emilyontmoor

Ahh, Booths cheese counter.

On a diet so I’m staying away from Booths. They have a decent fish counter too, their kippers are delicious.

My parents voted in the referendum to join the Common Market, I've no idea how they voted. The U.K. did vote to join the Common Market.

I was old enough to vote, and the UK wasn't voting to join, it was already in. Ted Heath, a Tory took us in. It voted to stay in - Harold Wilson had much the same problems as Cameron did with an anti -EEC wing of his party. However, Wilson had a bit more sense than Cameron or was more wily and knew to sit back, and not let the Referendum be a vote on his Leadership. But he wasn't an entitled old Etonian.

As for the move to Strasbourg and back. The UK could have been in at the beginning of the EEC but Churchill was more interested in keeping the Empire going, so passed up the opportunity to have the influence to say that this wasn't a good idea.

I wondered about the lightbulbs and who proposed the legislation for the EU. I came across this, which I admit surprised me - www.epa.gov/cfl/how-energy-independence-and-security-act-2007-affects-light-bulbs So the US under Bush was leading the way in banning incandescent bulbs for domestic use! Who would have thought that?

It seems also that people in Britain were keen to see them banned.
www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/aug/31/lightbulbs-incandescent-europe

I haven't been able to find out if one particular country sponsored the ban - the decision seems to have been made by a committee made up of members of EU states. Which includes the UK.

Thank you SpitefulBreasts for explaining clearly the exact reasons why I chose to vote leave too. I also avoid such threads and social media on the subject because of the venom directed at leave voters. I find the lack of ability to discuss our opinions, on any matter, very disturbing and it does not bode well for our future if we cannot even listen to other points of view without hysterically shouting them down as ignorant.

My parents also voted to join the Common Market and they are adamant to this day that it was purely that, nothing to do with the superstate it is obviously aspiring to be.

I won't bother to ask anyone if they object to implementing international laws either. Seems like the principle is wrong.

I am also pretty sure I never call anyone thick or uneducated.

Because I don't want to be part of a federal state.
Because I don't want an EU Army.
Because I don't want to play second fiddle to Germany.
Because think the EU is old fashioned and expensive.
Because I think while there is so much poverty in the world the money spent on fancy buildings and even fancier salaries is a disgrace..
Because I believe we should go global and beyond the cliquey bubble called the EU.
I don't like that the EU treats people who aren't EU citizens as second class.
And I think we should be allowed to save our industries if we want to.

In reality many Brexiteers, over the years, have become more and more frustrated by the very abusive comments hurled at them from remainers and so have stopped sharing their legitimate reasons for leaving the EU.

Remainers have no interest in understanding why people want to become a sovereign country again. Because they do not see being absorbed into an EU superstate as a bad thing. So they will NEVER understand or accept an independent UK.

Its ok to ask the question but you really need to think about why you are asking it. Because since the referendum I have found it is just an excuse to try and find a stick to abuse people they disagree with.

So the UK will never be able to come together again until after we have left the EU and remainers are given time to come to terms with a democratic vote.

There was one thread on the Brexit board where a poster, a Leaver went on and on about Leavers being called thick and racist. She must have posted a dozen or so posts to this affect but no Remainer joined in to agree with her.

I don't think it was only the Northeners.

And the biggest demographic in the remain vote were comfortably off Tories in the Home Counties, after that comfortably off in rural northern towns, like Ripon, biggest Tory majority in the country.

I think you mean Leave there Emilyontmoor. I agree about Booths - if Waitrose can expand north why can't Booths come south?
Could we also have a few more motorway service stations like the one at Tebay too?

Junckers and Tusk are both on the way out.

SpitefulBreasts thank you for your answer.
Now I cannot sleep until you tell us why your knockers are so full of spite.

Only on mumsnet will you find that no a single Leave voter voted because of immigration

Main reason my parents voted leave were;

EU captains such as Barnier are not elected

EU meddles for the sake of meddling. Who cares about the shape of bananas? Do they not taste the same regardless of shape?

Immigration.

I am a remainer and really have struggled to find a brexiter who actually can explain why they feel that we would be better to leave

They don't have to explain why they voted leave. Nor do those who voted remain have to explain.

I try to stay away from these threads now because LeClerc or Peregrina will immediately say which law has affected you adversely whereas it is the principle of it I object to

You missed out Bellsinsurge from your list.

The accounts of the EU Governmental departments have never been signed off by a professional accounting company.

I appreciate it was lightbulbs that tipped you over the edge spiteful but this about the EU accounts is just an urban myth.

Thank you for all your responses.

For the ones asking as to why I wanted to know the actual reason. I am an immigrant myself, brits call themselves expats when they emigrate to a different country but I don't think expat is the correct word, I am an immigrant. I came to this country in 2010 (I am from Germany) to study linguistics and met my husband, a south east Londoner. Him not speaking German & me speaking three languages, it seemed easier to move to London, & 5 years after having finished university, we have bought a house and have a baby. I would actually prefer to live in Germany, but things aren't that easy. We wouldn't be able to get jobs where I'm from (tiny town by the sea), so where ever I would move, we'd have no family support and as many of you mums will know, it's nice to have some sort of family close to you as being a mum is bloody hard, let alone with no family to support you. I work for a German bank as the language skill comes in handy.

As many Europeans living in the UK, I was shocked initially simply because the only reason i live here is because the EU exists, I just didn't see it coming, and when people say they do not want that, fair enough! Many of my fellow British students studying a language benefitted from the Erasmus programme (I spent one of the 4 years of university at a university in Spain, university fees are waived for that year). If you voted leave to eliminate immigration, that's fair enough but it's what I have almost "feared". I'm not here to judge, I just wanted to know the reasons as I'm a lot more conscious around speaking German to my little boy. I don't have a German accent (I know it's weird but I don't) so I could almost mask being a Brit, so there is the little anxious me wondering if people are going to judge if I speak German to my baby boy in public because this makes it so very obvious that I am 'the' immigrant and that again makes me then wonder whether or not it's better to move after all if I don't feel 100% comfortable being who I am without the fear of being judged. I know I shouldn't care but I know that deep down, I do care, I want to feel welcomed, I believe anyone would. The baby has two passports and I will have two very soon myself but a passport doesn't make me British, I'll never be British, I'll always be German.

This is not me judging you for having voted 'leave' due to immigration, just explaining how this reason makes me feel but behind your reason, there will be story. We all have our story. In regards to the other reasons, thank you! I'm not here to argue anyone's reasons because i didn't want it to be a discussion whether I agree with it all or not. It's actually interesting to see as at work or anywhere really, it's unheard of to even bring up the subject and a lot of people would not even be honest about having voted leave when speaking to a European.

& to everyone complaining about me asking: please accept my apologies, I didn't know this topic was discussed many many many times before, I'm quite new to mumsnet!

What saddens me the most about threads like this is the lack of thought about consequences.

I don’t think any Remainers think the EU is perfect but they weighed up the pros and cons and decided that, on balance, being part of the EU outweighed the downsides (by a long way).

Every leave argument I’ve ever heard just looks at the bits they don’t like, without a single thought being given to what we lose by leaving.

Nothing in life is ever that simple, least of all the unwinding of 40 odd years of EU membership, so why wouldn’t you consider the downsides when reaching a conclusion?

And please don’t say it was a Yes / No vote.

Finerumpus Posters in support of leave are often subjected to ignorant abuse (see post 3).

Post 3 was made by a Leaver, as is evident from most of their other (usually childish, try-too-hard to be 'funny') Brexit-related posts. This is a common tactic on these threads: a Leaver gets in first, wailing that Leavers are depicted as 'thick racists' before anyone who supports remain actually writes any of those words.