We were in St Petersburg in 2016, when it happened. Our guide cried with us. In the years immediately following, we visited lots of European cities – Leipzig, Valencia and Salzburg. Almost everyone asked, why did you vote for Leave?
Our area chose Leave 52% over Remain 48%. We were horrified and we knew what could happen. We have lived under a Leavers’ government since the 2019 election. With all Boris Johnson’s whims to deepen the damage. We will still never give up.
Farms
In our rural villages, we have six farms. Farmers don’t generally want to talk about their situation, but occasionally the local media will admit that most of them are struggling to cope with 20% less income and the huge lack of overseas workers. It is sad to walk round the footpaths to see the vacant land. Even worse to see rotten vegetables, fruits and dying crops.
Trade
Brexit has made a large impact on UK Trade. Many small businesses are affected by the price of imported goods. Food prices have soared, mainly because of Brexit. Those three years have changed most of our lives, especially those of us with lower incomes.
Brexit has reduced GDP by 5.5%, investment by 11% and goods trade by 7%. These things will continue to sink. Bills are jumping by hundreds of pounds a month. We are the weakest of the First World nations.
Schools
My school in the Cotswolds was a Specialist Language College. We used to teach nine languages. Now, it’s just three. All the brilliant school trips were not just for language, but for music, history and science too.
The greatest loss
At home, the greatest loss is our doctors, nurses and other medical professionals. Many decided to leave.
More of us are starting to understand what we have done. There are NO advantages from Brexit. We have gained only a prolonged collapse in UK trade with the world. We have lost our freedom to roam. Europeans who might want to come here to work find it much more difficult. So, we have less production, less resilience and less responsiveness.
Now, even Rishi Sunak agrees that Brexit is making us poorer.
