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A Plague of Rats: How Years of Austerity Prompted Many Britons to Vote for Brexit
Cockburn, Patrick
http://www.counterpunch.org/2019/02/05/a-plague-of-rats-how-years-of-austerity-prompted-many-britons-to-vote-for-brexit/Date Written: 2019-02-05 Publisher: CounterPunch Year Published: 2019 Resource Type: Article Cx Number: CX23377 Many Britons in poor areas voted for Brexit even though they benefited financially from the EU. Though often blamed on fear of immigration it is also a result of discontent brought on by severe austerity and privatization. Abstract: -- Excerpt: Thanington is a deprived district on the outskirts of Canterbury which used to be called "Little Beirut" because of its high levels of crimeand violence.... Most people in Thanington voted for Britain to leave the EU, and they did so because they are poor and feel neglected, according to Todd, who has known the area for 30 years. He says that there is an "assumption there that immigration has affected their prospects. I don’t think people are aware of how much Thanington did benefit from the EU. The European regeneration money certainly made a huge impact on the quality of the housing stock up there. It probably gave some of the houses another chance, otherwise they might have been knocked down. Some people want immigration cut and others think that talk of another referendum is an indicator that their concerns haven’t been taken seriously...." Financial aid from the EU and other advantages stemming from membership had little effect on poor Leave voters in 2016. Either the EU's achievements were under-publicised, or – and this is probably the crucial factor – whatever the EU did was not enough to counterbalance a pervasive sense among millions of voters that their lives are getting more pressured and insecure. This was as true in east Kent as it was in Cornwall, an example of ingratitude for EU largesse often cited. That county has a population of 530,000 and received €654m (£574m) from the EU between 2007 and 2013. It was due to receive another €600m before 2020, yet 54.5 per cent voted Leave. Subject Headings |