‘The Brexit Campaign of 2016 - both Leave and Remain - were fought largely through the medium of simplicities, delusions and lies’ (Morgan, 2018)
The shock Brexit result in June 2016, illuminated the deep divisions that exist within Britain today. Highlighting tensions within communities, resulting in a disunited society. This is particularly evident in Wales where 52% of the electorate and 17 out of 22 Welsh regions voted
‘Leave’.
Ironically Wales benefits substantially from European Funding, with a net annual gain of around £245 million in 2014. Yet there is a lack of recognition that the EU has had any impact, there is a lack of connection to everyday life.
Why Wales voted against its own best interest was epitomised in an article published in the Guardian immediately following the Brexit result, ‘Why did Wales shoot itself in the foot in this referendum?’, by Professor Wyn Jones of Cardiff University, whilst Dr Daniel Evans, 2016 compares the result to ‘Turkeys voting for Christmas’.
The referendum was seen as a ‘scapegoat’, that the welsh populace used it as an opportunity to vote against the ‘establishment and the politically elite’. Brexit strongest support came from areas where levels of education were at their lowest. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation states that ’15 of the 20 least educated areas voted to leave, whilst 20 of the most educated areas voted to remain’.
Post analysis of the Brexit vote sent a very loud and clear message from those who feel ‘Left Behind’. Those areas of economic disadvantage with low levels of education, and where the population is heavily white, were seen to be the most likely to support Brexit and the Leave Vote. These facts leave a bitter aftertaste.
The Brexit campaign is cited as being ‘one of the most prominent examples of a disinformation campaign intended to disrupt normal democratic disorder’. That neither side generated deep political thinking but was based around lies and deceptions. Unfortunately, the impact and consequences of Brexit will be felt by future generations, long after those who took part in the debate are gone and forgotten.