We are the 48%

What a sad, sad day.

It has taken me all day to let this sink in, and it still hasn’t fully sunk in. So much has changed in less than 24 hours since the polling stations closed.

What has happened in those 24 hours:

• The pound has dropped to its lowest since 1985, lower than the 2008 financial crisis
• £100 billion wiped off the pensions
• The Prime Minister has resigned with no plan of a smooth exit
• The Labour leader is being pressured to step down
• Scotland calling for another referendum

What will probably happen? Impromptu trips to mainland Europe will be a tad more difficult now, with those pesky visas. You won’t even be able to cross from Northern Ireland to the Republic of Ireland, great for keeping the peace.

I’m also predicting more austerity. Everyone’s favourite. Funnily, the less well off counties who voted to leave because they didn’t want to live through this austerity are actually partly funded by the European Union, such as Cornwall. The EU help fund projects and developments where the UK don’t give much funding. So I’d say that’s a shot in the foot.

 

Trade deals

New trade deals will most likely not be finalised till 2021, meaning no free trade, except with China and USA if Donald Trump becomes president. How great does that sound? Imports and exports will be more expensive, which may not sound like it will affect every day people, but it probably will. Businesses will have to spend more on trade, and therefore increase their sales price to us every day folk so they make a profit. And with the pound already weak, the weekly shop is going to be more expensive.

 

University, science, and technology

Some European university lecturers were already given job offers by international universities before yesterday, and they will probably take up those sweet deals now. Fewer university lecturers means fewer university places, which means a less educated populace, which means fewer doctors to cure us and fewer teachers to teach our children in the future.

A lot of academic programmes, such as doctoral training centres, are funded by the European Union so we can expect to see many of those coming to an end. These doctoral training centres not only produce students with phds, but help produce the bright minds of science and technology, those researching cancer and other medical cures.

Academia and research is so instrumental in our progress in science, technology, and the medical world. Without those people and without the European money to fund the research there will be no progress. There will be no cures.

I am so annoyed, so angry, for so many reasons, and to so many people.

 

I don’t understand

I don’t understand how the selfishness of “bettering” one country makes the world a better place. We are in the 21^st century now, globalisation has been going on for years and years, and apparently we want to throw away 40 years of progress and shut ourselves out from the rest of the world.

I don’t understand why 16 and 17 year olds weren’t allowed to vote when Scotland lowered the voting age for the Scottish referendum.

 

My two cents

To the older generation who remembered what it was like before we joined the EU: do you think that 40 years of progress is worth nothing? Do you think going backwards it better than going forwards?

To the xenophobic, the ones who say “I’m not racist, but…”, the fact that you have to start any conversation with those words implies otherwise. Do you really think that the immigrants are the problem? Voting to leave may make it more difficult for mainland Europeans to enter the country, but it will make it easier for internationals to enter the country and obtain visas. Even Dan Hannan stated that voting to leave won’t decrease immigration.

To those who believe that the immigrants are scrounging off our benefits, there are more Brits on the dole than immigrants on the dole in the UK. And let’s not forget that Britons living in mainland Europe also claim benefits outside the UK. You give some and you take some.

To the people who did not even turn up to vote yesterday, had you voted to remain, there would have been no changes today. Now you live with the consequences. Now we all do.

To the people who apparently voted to leave to spite the government as a protest. It’s called spoiling the ballot. In a general election you vote RON, or Re-Open Nominations or simply spoil the ballot in protest, you don’t actually vote for one of the options. So yesterday you could have spoilt the ballot instead of voting to leave in “protest”.

To the people who now regret their decision to vote leave yesterday. What did you think would happen? Cameron stated that he would resign if we left, and even if he didn’t, it would be surprising if his own party didn’t pressure him to leave – like Labour are now doing with Corbyn.

To the people who voted to leave for reasons other than “it was better in my day” or other racial or prejudice reasons, how does it feel that your Nectar points are now probably worth more than the pound? How does it feel to believe a man like Nigel Farage would turn that European Union expense to help the NHS, to only have him turn around this morning and say it’s not actually possible at all? How does it feel to be associated with someone who spreads hate, scapegoats others, and doesn’t even understand the statistics that he quotes?

To the people who voted Tories in the first place and to the ones who thought Lib Dems did nothing. Now you know who the silent heroes were all along. Cameron explicitly stated that he would hold this referendum if the Tories were voted in, now it’s come to bite him in the backside.

To the bankers who began all this austerity in the first place, the exact ones who didn’t end up going to jail, and who ended up getting even bigger fat cat bonuses. This all started with you. It was you who brought the financial crisis in 2008, it was your actions that started the fear mongering and the scapegoating. How does it feel to know that you were the first domino, and now it’s all come crashing down.

To Boris Johnson. Let’s be honest, you will probably become the new PM, congrats, Mr Career Politician. I find it hard to believe that someone who was London Mayor for two terms in a row would want to leave the EU after all your talks and negotiations and visits to mainland Europe. I suppose you have to look out for number one, or for you, number 10.

My heart weeps right now. Although we may no longer be part of the European Union, we are still in Europe, we will still be governed by the European Court of Human Rights.

I sure hope that America make the right decision about their president. Though, I thought that we would be able to make the right decision today. What a sad, sad day.

Canada sure is looking pretty good right now.