Stronger Together?

So the vote is in, and we are out....  I am hearing so much hatred and panic this morning which saddens me.  I think it's very condescending of the Remain voters to say that all those who voted to leave are racists and uneducated,  I think it's wrong for the Leave voters to expect things to change overnight - if we want future stability we need to take our time and plan well.  As a parent, yes, I'm concerned what this means for my son and his peers but I also see this as an opportunity to put right decades of wrongs to make England a better place for him to grow and prosper.  We must now show that we are stronger together as a nation.

Whether you think the British public have made the right or wrong decision, we should remain grateful we live in a democracy where we do have the right to make that decision. I hear a lot of people saying they want to get out now and head to other countries - having lived overseas for a large part of my adult life, and traveled extensively around the world, I can assure those that are feeling a pull away from England that the grass is definitely not greener with the world in the state it is currently in. The UK remains one of the safest places to live, our economy is still the 5th largest in the world despite being only 22nd in population size (yes, this will temporarily drop, but it will stabilise again in the future) and we do have access to a far better standard of living than many of the places I hear people wanting to move to.

We need to now do what we do best in England - pull together, live with the outcome, and find a way forward. Although I agree that some of this has been driven by an "anti-immigration" feeling - I feel that the biggest factor here has been a dissatisfaction with the current Government, with the financial firm "fat cats" that get fatter while a significant number of everyday people struggle to make ends meet, and the challenges around provision of services (healthcare, education, housing). 

The majority of people do not see the value to the UK and our businesses of being in the EU and the fault for that should lie with the "remain" campaign who should have taken an education approach rather than trying to scare a sceptical public into "putting up" with more of the same.  There are so many unanswered questions now - What happens to the EU citizens that are settled here and contributing fully to the UK economy?  What happens to the British citizens that have settled elsewhere in the EU? What kind of immigration policy will we need to enable British industry and services to operate fully?   How do we hedge against, and manage, the financial fall out from this decision?  We now have to trust our leaders to answer those questions and so many others.

One thing I do know for certain - other members of the EU will not want to lose the British contribution to their economy - Mediterranean countries will seek to maintain the tourist industry that is dependent on British holiday makers, the German auto-manufacturers will not want to lose the British customer base or drive us to purchase vehicles made in the UK due to higher prices for imports, and tourists will not suddenly stop visiting the UK, especially London, as it will remain one of the key historic and cultural hotspots in Europe.  I don't believe there is a key economy in the world that will want to cease buying from or selling to the Brits.

Yes, we've woken up this morning to find our country on a new course, not the well-trodden familiar path but making our own way across a divide with the overgrowth of unknown challenges/risks.  But history shows that we occasionally need people to take a new path and find a new direction.  I travel in Europe a lot and the overwhelming sense is that they are watching the UK and this could be the start of a slow trickle out of the EU for those countries that feel their government and economy and people would be better out than in.  

It now doesn't matter whether I felt in or out was the right decision, I am still proud to be British where the people are able to make big decisions and, although the coming weeks/months will be volatile, things will calm down and we will find a way forward,,,,,because that's what we do!