The shock of Brexit

I started writing a fresh post just before the EU Referendum of 23rd June, with the intention of adding to it over the following days. The topic was a reflection on how retirement was looking and feeling after six months, and comparing my way of life now with the early days of retirement at the start of the calendar year.

As has been the case for many of the family and friends I've been in touch with since the Referendum result hit home on Friday 24th, I've felt a genuine sense of loss at learning that over half of the people of this country want to pull away from our European neighbours and "do it their way." I've also been asking myself, and other people, what it says about Britain today and how it might change our sense of national identity and place in the world over the coming years. In the light of the emotions that I've been experiencing, my original post felt irrelevant and too inward-looking, at a time when there are so many big questions to address.

It's been interesting to look at the voting pattern along demographic lines and the correlation between ageing populations and the propensity for voting to leave the EU is clear. As a retired over-60, I want to wear a badge that states loudly and clearly, that I, and most of my family and friends, did not vote to leave, denying the young generations behind us opportunities in the future to move freely around the EU; we did not vote to isolate the country at a time when I strongly believe we should pursue every opportunity to work co-operatively with our neighbours to tackle the big global issues, such as climate change and the movement of populations across the world. My youngest son, who has been using Twitter as his primary source of news since the result, quoted some of the tweets from his contemporaries, which pinned the blame on the older generations, with  statements like, "Well that's the last time I give up my seat on the bus to an older person." This is sad but understandable!

It really struck me last weekend how tragically ironic it felt as we looked back with horror and pity at the Battle of the Somme, 100 years ago, while at the same time we had made this bizarre decision to break away from an organisation that was originally set up to ensure that differences of opinion between European neighbours could be dealt with through discussion and shared interests, and not through the horrors of war. This was articulated beautifully by Sheila Hancock, the actress, on one of the televised debate programmes in the week before the vote took place, and for me, these considerations weighed much more heavily than the economic quuestions that dominated the early stages of the pre-Referendum debate.

Of course, none of us really know where all of this is going, but I believe that one positive thing coming out of all of this is the upsurge in political interest and awareness, particularly among the young.  Suddenly, the relevance of political decisions and the need to engage with political debate is clear, and that's what I hope will save us from the fear, isolation and a hopeless nostalgia for a past that has gone, that threaten our future wellbeing.