Pete Ashmore voted leave in Brexit referendum but now regrets his decision
Was SCARF
Text size
Photos byOli Scarff
The last British general election was all about leaving the European Union, but this time Brexit is barely mentioned – and residents of the anti-EU stronghold of Skegness are not surprised.
“Labour are avoiding it because they didn’t want it, the Conservatives are avoiding it because they screwed it up,” Danny Brookes, 58, former mayor of this English seaside town, told AFP unlucky.
Add to that Brexit fatigue and the barely healed scars of the divisive vote and it's easy to understand why the main parties are largely avoiding the toxic issue ahead of the July 4 poll.
“A bit like a terrible row in a family, it just takes a while before someone really wants to go near it again,” said Chris Grey, a Brexit expert at Royal Holloway, University of London.
The seaside town of Skegness in eastern England recorded the highest share of votes in favor of Brexit.
Was SCARF
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson won a landslide victory for the Conservatives in 2019, pledging to “get Brexit done”, which saw the Boston and Skegness constituency return its Conservative MP with a largest majority.
England's east coast region of Lincolnshire recorded the highest proportion of votes in favor of Brexit in the 2016 referendum, when 75% of voters chose to leave the bloc.
The influx of migrants from Eastern Europe, coupled with general discontent with the political establishment over low wages and lack of jobs, were seen as fueling the vote.
Johnson led Britain out of the EU in early 2020, before being forced out of office due to numerous scandals which have since left fellow Brexit supporter Rishi Sunak in 10 Downing Street.
Brookes voted for Brexit but believes that promises made by his main supporters during the campaign, particularly on immigration, which has since reached record levels, have been kept.
Skegness banks on summer tourism
Was SCARF
“A lot of what they said hasn't come true. They've let us down,” the councilor said from the cafe he owns on Skegness's main street, citing the housing seekers' accommodation. asylum in the city's hotels.
Others in Skegness, home to 21,000 people and where rides and amusement arcades compete for space with sweet shops and ice cream stands, express similar regrets about Brexit.
Pete Ashmore, a 70-year-old retiree, voted for Brexit eight years ago, but says he would vote differently if given the chance again.
“It seemed like a good idea,” he said on the ride, with two British flags flying from a basket attached to the front of his scooter.
Since the UK left the EU, there has been criticism that Brexit was not implemented properly.
Was SCARF
“But I suspected it wouldn’t work, and I think they were right.”
Polls now suggest that most Britons think Brexit was a mistake. Those who continue to argue that this was the right thing to do tend to say that the Conservatives did not implement it correctly.
“(So) for conservatives, there’s not much to talk about,” says Grey, a professor of organizational studies and author of “Brexit Unfolded.”
The Liberal Democrats, the smaller opposition parties, have pledged to re-enter the European single market in the future.
The Scottish National Party would seek re-entry into the EU if Scotland, which largely voted against Brexit, were granted independence, although that prospect is not on the horizon at the moment.
Labor leader Keir Starmer, a former Brexit spokesman who voted “remain” and wanted a second vote on the issue, ruled out a return to the European single market, the customs union or free movement.
Few places saw the benefit of leaving
Was SCARF
But he wants to negotiate a closer relationship with the EU, including a new defense pact.
This future relationship could include a youth mobility program recently proposed by the European Commission, which would make it easier for Britons aged 18 to 30 to live, study and work in the EU.
Labor talks little about Europe, however, because that would allow the Conservatives to lead the entire Brexit campaign, Gray said, while the economy and health care are voters' top concerns.
“You could say that politicians are just reacting to the public mood,” he added.
In Skegness, Mandy Mann, 55, enjoying a plate of fish and chips and mushy peas in the town centre, thinks Brexit should be on the ballot paper.
Both main parties avoid talking about Brexit during the election campaign
Was SCARF
“We pay more now than when we were in the EU,” she says, citing a cost-of-living crisis that has crippled households with high energy bills and mortgage repayments, adding that she would vote for to come back.
Gray suspects that if Labor secures a large majority as expected, Labor MPs in the Starmer government could then push for closer alliances with Europe, ultimately putting Brexit back on the agenda.
“There will potentially be an important discussion on re-accession in view of the 2029 elections,” he predicts.
pdh/phz/ach
