Ten years after the Brexit vote, the divisions in UK society are deeper than ever 

On 23 June 2016, the UK voted to leave the EU. The most Brexit town in Britain turned out to be Boston, with 75.6% of the town voting Leave. Exactly 10 years later, England play Ghana in the other Boston, which is a serendipitous way to celebrate if you’re so inclined. (That Boston was birthplace to a bizarro Brexit, but more on the USA’s 250th birthday coming soon.)

For this week’s magazine we visited Brexit town, a moniker our Boston may or may not wear willingly, to find out what life is like for those who live there 10 years on.

One resident, Iga Bontoft, reports “a wave of disappointment” from people who voted for Brexit. “They were voting pro-change, they wanted to change something. What they got is nothing; empty promises, because not much has actually changed.” 

Despite a decade of proroguing parliament, a parade of prime ministers, pandemics and parties – but enough of the Ps – sentiment hasn’t really changed much. The original 52% Leave vs 48% Remain result is reflected by split opinions today. According to Ipsos research, 48% think Brexit is going worse than expected, so 52% evidently don’t; 53% say we should allow EU citizens to live and work here in return for single market access, so 47% disagree.

Brexit wasn’t the cause of our increasingly divided society, rather a consequence of it. In Scotland, we enjoyed a sneak preview of the divisive discourse that emerges around a constitutional question.

The independence referendum in 2014 exposed faultlines you didn’t know existed between family and friends, debate founded less on facts or policy than instinct and ideology.

Brexit was like the Hollywood remake, the same story on a grander scale, attracting a bigger budget and larger audience. Sequel potential tbc. Campaigns were steered by slogans on the side of a bus more than detailed plans and proposals. Because that stuff is boring. They’re problems to kick down the road, especially if there’s only a 50/50 chance you’ll ever have to travel down that road.

Read more:

• Food shortages: The places hit by Brexit and Covid supply chain issues
• No, Brexit didn’t help UK ‘take back control’ – it made immigration rise. Here’s how
• Copying Nigel Farage gives him a credibility he hasn’t earned

The cracks in society have grown to chasms over the years, with populists jumping in to fill the void with their own hollow promises. The source of most dog whistles, then and today, is inequality. People who feel left behind are more susceptible to arguments that someone else is receiving preferential treatment, whether that’s immigrants or Brussels bureaucrats. Some other is getting a better deal at our expense.

It’s working for Farage, and arguably the best thing that could happen for the Scottish independence movement is a failing Labour Party and rise of Reform. Not that Scotland is immune to right-wing influence.

Earlier this month, a handful of anti anti-racism protesters took to the streets of Glasgow. Footage taken just along the road from our office, outside the Sainsbury’s where most of us buy lunch every day, showed men (inevitably men) giving Nazi salutes. Others in the group were waving Israeli flags. The urge to be disruptive for disruption’s sake could be more dangerous for it being totally untethered to coherent thinking.

A raised arm is the tip of a larger iceberg. For every ruddy-faced saluter on the street, there will be squads of keyboard kaisers stoking and provoking other people’s grievances.

More than being for or against rejoining the EU or a second Scottish bid for freedom, I’m pro-consensus. Wouldn’t it be a nice change to find something we can all get behind? Addressing inequality. Deconstructing poverty. Making it illegal to do a Nazi salute in public like it is in many countries in Europe… maybe not all European laws are automatically bad by default.

Steven MacKenzie is editor of Big Issue.Read more of his writing here.

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? Get in touch and tell us more. 

Change a vendor’s life.

Buy from your local Big Issue vendor every week – and always take the magazine. It’s how vendors earn with dignity and move forward.

You can also support online:
Subscribe to the magazine or support our work with a monthly gift. Your support helps vendors earn, learn and thrive while strengthening our frontline services.

Thank you for standing with Big Issue vendors.