Why I’m leaving Brexit Britain behind

I am old enough to remember how it was in 70s and 80s with the racism, violence, constant strikes and hooliganism. Very sadly it really feels that UK is heading in that direction once again with Brexit.

When I grew up we used to laugh at anything British made other than orange marmalade due to poor quality. If you ever saw anyone driving a British built car you almost fell over. That changed when joining EU and the massive foreign investments started. As they dry up it is not looking good. Neither will it help to improve the already generally low productivity. 

The way every little positive news is cheered here as if they won the football championships is really rather embarrassing, such as the trade deal with the (almost) most furthest away country on the planet. In order to not shatter the illusion, people just seem to lap it up in a way I doubt they would in any other western European country. 

It feels to me there is very little critical thinking among the general public. Probably because too many like the illusion that UK once again is a world power respected and fear globally. Rather than a smallish country thoroughly living in the past and about to be left behind. Again.

Lasse Babba

Sonia Delesalle-Stolper’s article (“Europeans have moved on from Britain..”) made me feel incredibly sad.

I shall be 72 this year and have lived the European dream: the freedom to take off around Europe without a second thought as though it was simply a part of my own country; the joy of living in Austria and Hungary; and my European friends free to visit without any concerns at the border; driving across Europe from Budapest to visit my children in England picking up regional delicacies for them en route; happily saying yes to jobs that took me to Europe.

I never took this wonderful freedom for granted. I always cherished it.
Catherine Charlton
St Leonards-on-Sea

I have just read Sonia Delesalle-Stolper’s article. I am a Brit who has lived in France for 15 years. Anticipating the result of the referendum, I applied for French citizenship in 2015, becoming naturalised in 2017. I cherish the freedom being a citizen of the EU gives me.

I could weep for the younger generation in the UK who have had this freedom taken from them. I am horrified and ashamed of the way in which young people from the EU have been treated by the UK border officials. One can only imagine the outcry should the same treatment be meted out to any British youngsters visiting an EU country.
Lesley Stockman

Reading the articles by Sonia Delesalle-Stolper and Matt Frei made my thoughts wander back to the night of the referendum and the morning after.

My wife Julie and I were staying in a small pension in Zell am See, Austria, our ‘Remain’ postal votes were already sent before we left the UK. We watched a BBC exit poll suggesting a Remain win so we went happily to bed after a last glug of Italian red wine. We woke early the next day and turned on the news only to be in utter shock waking up to Nigel Farage’s ‘Independence Day’ rant.

The day unfolded nervously for us as the hotel was mainly occupied by very friendly but non-UK guests. A waitress broke the ice with us by saying “so you want to leave us then, you don’t like us anymore?”, which shocked us both.

The next day on the way back to the airport, our coach courier burst into tears when thanking us for coming.
Martin Pettigrew

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