The worst day in British history?
Forget 1066 and the Norman Invasion. Forget the Great Plague and the Great Fire of London. Forget also Oliver Cromwell, the murder of Thomas Beckett, the reign of Henry VIII, the First World War, World War II and the Holocaust.
I wasn’t around to witness those events.
For me the worst day in British History was 23 June 2016 when the UK voted to leave the European Union. Based on lies promoted by Nigel Farage, then leader of UKIP, and Bojo The Clown, alias Boris Johnson.
[Image courtesy of Dachser]
To actually leave took another four years of flawed negotiation by Johnson, the now discredited former prime minister.
Nigel Farage [Photo: Times Higher Education] Boris Johnson [Photo: Heraldo de Aragón]
31 January, 2020
Five years ago on this day was the date of Brexit, the day the UK actually left the European Union. The referendum had taken place just less than four years earlier and was arguably the worst day of my life.
I stayed up all night to watch the results coming in. From a bright beginning, the first result to be declared was Gibraltar, the British protectorate off southern Spain. 98 per cent voted to remain.
It got worse from then on.
[Image courtesy of ANPE Cantabria]
In the end the vote was: Yes 51.9%; No 48.1%
Abandonar la Unión Europea 17 410 742 51.9 %
Permanecer en la Unión Europea 16 141 241 48.1 %
Votos válidos 33 551 983 99.9 %
Votos no válidos o en blanco 26 033 0.1 %
Participación 33 578 016 72.2 %
Votantes registrados 46 501 241 100.00 %
Fuente: BBC
Sense of loss
As a languages student, I travelled more often to the continent than within my home country.
I got to know France, Germany and Spain particularly well, but also visited Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the Soviet Union and Sweden.
So, I was a true European and, when it came to the referendum, I was a committed remainer, following prime minister David Cameron’s ill-fated decision to offer the British population a vote on the issue.
Although I am not a Conservative, I liked Cameron until he spoiled his legacy with this huge faux pas.
Map of Europe [Wikipedia]
Five years on
And where did Brexit leave us?
“Up shit creek without a paddle”.
I find it a terrible shame that the Labour Party did not commit to re-joining the European Union or at least the Customs Union.
This has left the UK adrift between the huge European bloc of 27 countries and the pariah of a country that the USA is destined to become under president Donald J Trump, a convicted felon and all-round bad guy.
[Cartoon courtesy of Reddit]
© The History Man
[Image courtesy of El Periódico]
Acknowledgements:
ANPE Cantabria, BBC, Dachser, El Periódico, Heraldo de Aragón, Reddit, Sky News, Times Higher Education (THE), Wikipedia
Tags:
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