During the campaign, right wing parties like UKIP propped up by your boy Nigel Farage repeated that they wanted their country back. They wanted jobs back for hardworking British people. Yet these speeches were done in coastal towns that are predominantly populated by the retired white British who have moved out from the cities.
Sticking with UKIP, they railed on that immigration from the EU was past breaking point. One UKIP poster was reported to the police. A poster that had thousands of migrants who were quite obviously from the middle east and north Africa (Neither of which are in the EU by the way).
Various Leave campaigns went with the immigration tactic. This really started to encapsulate the electorate. Made up figures were thrown everywhere. Turkey was set to be joining the EU with the whole country moving to Britain in the next fortnight.
Then another big lie was painted on the side of a bus. An actual bus that moves. Our desperately underfunded NHS was being deprived of £350m a week because of those sods in Brussels.
This was the turning point. No matter how hard the remain side tried, with support of doctors, scientists and thinkers, the damage was done. This completely made up figure was depriving our NHS, (the envy of the world) of the desperate money it needed.
People need not hear the boring drone of an expert (the people who know what they’re talking about). Lies and fake news had swung the vote. The remain side were dubbed project fear with all their statistics and factual figures.
On 23rd June 2016 51.9% or 17.4 million people voted for Great Britain and Northern Ireland to leave the European Union.
48.1 % or 16.1 million voted to remain.
27.9% of the electorate didn’t vote.
Everyone under the age of 18 couldn’t vote.
Does age affect voting intention?
Actually, this is an important point, those who weren’t eligible to vote because they were too young, will be living in a Britain outside of the EU for the longest.
I’m sure you have all seen the demographics. Those 65+ were over twice as likely to vote leave than those 18-24.
So let’s say those aged 18-24 have grown up in a Britain where being at school with someone of another race has been the norm. In a Britain with the best technology. In a Britain that is moving forward with gay rights. They have grown up in a Britain that has been able to freely move people for work and/or leisure between 27 other nations.
With a snail paced recession recovery, minimum wage jobs seem to be the only option. This makes the opportunity to own a property, retire or have a decent pension minimal. The idea of moving to a fellow EU nation is rather mouth watering.
Now let’s look at those 65+, we can presume a majority of the age group has retired, has a house of their own and has a pension. They are quite likely to be a little bit funny about the foreign family living 2 doors down and are not quite sure about the gays. Is that stereotyping?
Do newspapers target age groups?
Despite popular belief, young people are very engaged in politics and more often than not read left of centre print i.e The Guardian who took a pro-EU stance. The Guardian’s online presence has become one of the most read news sites in the UK. The newspaper often has pieces on universities, new music, theatre and arts. This looks like targeting a younger audience to me.
Older people tend to read newspapers that are right leaning and take a Euro-sceptic outlook i.e The Daily Mail and The Daily Express. Both tabloids are champions of racist journalism and new remedies for arthritis and dementia.
You’re targeting the elderly a bit mate.
On the contrary. I’m simply summarising my take on events. It was certain newspapers and the right who targeted the elderly during the referendum.
Had the Conservative government allowed 16-17 year olds the vote, I can assure you, Britain would not be in the situation it is now. We would absolutely be staying in the European Union.
The next few years will be more damaging to the younger generation than anything we have experienced before.
Further still, anyone who voted leave, young or old, caught using the phrase ‘Nothing bad has happened’, just remind them that we haven’t actually left yet.
