Topical Taboo: An irreparable divide? How Brexit has split the nation
- Taboo
- Apr 6, 2019
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 9, 2019
Whether you voted leave, remain or even if you didn’t vote at all, you’ll be familiar with the hostility and tension surrounding the subject of Brexit. Many remain voters continue to push for a second referendum, while most leave voters feel that a democratic referendum was carried out, and now the result should be acted upon. Meanwhile, Theresa May is struggling to get the backing needed to finalise a deal to leave. It seems the country has reached an impasse and it’s causing a rift. Taboo has explored both sides of the Brexit debate.
Most UK citizens sigh at the very sight or sound of the ‘B’ word. Brexit is constantly in the news due to debates and votes in Parliament at least weekly, repeated negotiations with Brussels and - essentially - catastrophe after catastrophe.
While the future of Britain’s EU membership remains uncertain, the very topic is enough to bring a conversation over family dinner to an abrupt and tense end. It continues to cause a divide between age groups, with many young people who voted remain feeling that the older generation voted against what the young wanted – when it is the young who will live with the effects of Brexit for longer.
Back in 2016, the EU referendum resulted in almost a 50/50 split, with 48% of voters opting to remain in the EU and 52% voting to leave. The campaign that preceded the referendum has since been the subject of much debate, with suggestions that there was sufficient misinformation from the leave camp to justify a second referendum.
The main basis of this argument is often the infamous ‘Brexit Bus’. If you haven’t heard of it, this was Vote Leave’s campaign bus, which was branded with the words: “We send the EU £350 million a week let’s fund our NHS instead.”
The UK Statistics Authority wrote a letter to then Foreign Secretary and 'Vote Leave' campaigner, Boris Johnson, calling on him to stop using this statistic and labelling it “a clear misuse of official statistics.”
So, the argument from some is that if people did base their vote on this statistic – which is plausible as it was all over online news, social media and TV – they based their vote on false information. Does that not warrant a second referendum?
There are many other arguments used by remainers – or ‘remoaners’ as leave voters have affectionately branded them. Some argue that a no deal Brexit will cause severe damage to the UK economy and that we should simply remain a member of the EU if MPs cannot reach an agreement on a deal.
While the divide between leave voters and remain voters is huge, there is also a giant split within each of those camps.
Parliament cannot decide on what Brexit should look like, and the public are equally split. The only thing that MPs have decided is that there should not be a 'no deal' Brexit, with .
However, they won't back Theresa May's deal because of issues with the Irish backstop. A series of indicative votes demonstrated that they also can't decide between a customs union, a common market 2.0, a Canada style trade deal... the list goes on. None of these options reached a majority in the House of Commons.
May has now started talks with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, to find whether the parties can find a consensus on this issue. This is something some say they should have done from the start, and others resent.
The Prime Minister has also asked the EU for another extension on Article 50. To delay when we will finally leave.
The Government are insistent that we will leave the EU, while there is a large section of the public still campaigning for Article 50 to be revoked. One petition has over six million signatures to stay in the EU.
This is a situation that is being worsened because it's not just British MPs debating amongst themselves, they are also trying to negotiate with the European Union and the 27 other member states. What might be best for Britain, might not be best for the EU.
The public, of course, are not staying silent on this issue either.
There are also arguments about the way Brexit should have been handled in the first place and questions remain over Theresa May's premiership. Should she have got a deal in place before triggering Article 50? Should she resign sooner rather than later? Is Brexit now terminally doomed?
Remainers want Britain to stay in the EU and think that the past two years have made Britain look like a shambles on the international stage.
Leavers want Britain to finally leave the EU and get what they voted for.
And some are changing their opinion daily.
No matter what your opinion on Brexit, it is clear that this is a mess that will divide the country for a long time to come, and will define a whole generation.
We want to hear your thoughts on this topic - do you support or oppose Brexit? Get in touch with us on social media or send us an email at contact.us.taboo@gmail.com.
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