I was shocked and stunned by the result our country delivered on the E.U. referendum. The build up to the vote was not our finest hour. Frankly , we look pretty hideous at the moment . The thing is – I don’t quite believe it. I don’t believe that the voters wanted this result – is that arrogant? I think the whole affair has been mismanaged – in fact I was anti a referendum for this reason – we have a government to govern. That is the point of them – to argue out in a reasonable manner the pros and cons of policy. I think the public are astute, but the populace cannot , by definition , read and inwardly digest the intricacies and complexities of economics and social policies via the media. It cannot happen. There will be a small minority who can unpick all the necessary argument and come to a judgement secure in the knowledge that they have equipped themselves with the available information from all sides and critically examined the opposing argument. The vast majority are too busy surviving, or too lazy or disinterested.
Now we are in this position the various factions are running about like headless chickens because they didn’t believe this could happen either. Big mistake.
However, what is important now is that cool heads manage the coming months. Britain will survive because there is no choice. We may have to build some bridges , and that work will be done. Most people I meet are honest, well meaning, and committed to making life better for themselves and for their companions. What is essential is our humanity to others is not compromised. None of us live in a vacuumn and if compassion is at the forefront of policy making as well as daily living , there will be nothing to fear. Fear is the only outcome when the politics of the far right starts to seep into our daily governance and our daily lives.
We need to recognise the danger that the far right brings , remembering the recent past atrocities that shaped our modern politics. It always appears unthreatening in the build up to taking power, and morphs into monstrous totalitarianism almost imperceptibly.
Compassion is the key. Retain it in the heart of politics and daily living and that monster has no oxygen .
moving in time 
Britain will survive? How? With Scotland leaving and Northern Ireland on its heels, will it still be “Britain” when its just England and Wales?
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Scotland hasn’t left yet, my point is that we need to keep calm heads.
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Neither has Britain. And by the looks of it, nor will Britain be leaving the EU any time soon. One by one, the stuff Leavers promised turns to be “mistake” “misunderstanding” and “disappointment”.
MP Nigel Evans told BBC Radio 5 live there had been “some misunderstanding” about the consequences of Brexit on immigration.
Tory Leave campaigner Daniel Hannan: “Frankly, if people watching think that they have voted and there is now going to be zero immigration from the EU, they are going to be disappointed”.
And of course Nigel Farage has disowned a pledge to spend £350 million of European Union cash on the NHS after Brexit.
Would have been funny if it wasn’t so sad. Hold on to your hats indeed, I’m afraid there’s more of the same coming.
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Anne, you say people are “too busy surviving” to figure out what’s happening. I see that, yes. “Now we are in this position the various factions are running about like headless chickens because they didn’t believe this could happen either. Big mistake.” True! We’re coping with Trump in the U. S., and frankly it seems that some of the same anger and emotion lies behind Brexit, Donald Trump, and even Bernie Sanders. People go off into different corners, but all these voters seem to be saying, “The elites have it all and have left me out!” Democratic Party in U. S. no longer stands with working families, as I see it, and their voters have gone over either to Bernie or to Trump. Bernie, in my view, would give us a new start that would help everyone, not just the rich, feel a stake in our government and our country, and I suppose Brexit voters feel the same hope! What to do next though is a puzzle in both countries. But I do think the “leaders” and the corporations have strayed way too far from the common everyday people, and are being called to account!
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