Brexistential Crisis...

I cannot begin to fathom what happened in the early hours of the 24th of June.

I know I should respect democracy, and the fact that over half of the 72% turn out did indeed vote to leave, and I should probably be taking the optimistic view - lets all just unite and come together to make good out of a rubbish situation. And I'm sure I'll come round to that view eventually. But right now, certainly for the first half of this blog post (which I angrily wrote at work the day of the result), I actually can't.

You all know I've been pretty damn vocal during this campaign. You all know I wanted the UK to remain in the European Union. But I don't think even I realised quite how bad it would be if we actually left. And now it's happened.

The pound has already devalued beyond belief and big businesses are upping sticks and going across the seas to ensure the economic security of their companies. Wouldn't it be ironic that the solution to people's immigration fears might result from UK citizens migrating away from this nightmare.

Our universities are going to suffer. Students already have a tough time, with the increased tuition fees and scrapping of maintenance grants. The implementation of policy like Prevent has already sought to demonise minority students, and I fear our decision to leave the EU may exacerbate this. We are going to lose research funding. Our ability to move freely about Europe to collaborate with researchers, study and work in other European countries is going to be compromised. As one Financial Times reader so profoundly wrote: "We will never know the full extent of the lost opportunities, friendships, marriages and experiences we will be denied". When I look towards my future now, for the first time in my life, I genuinely feel limited. Like opportunities have been robbed from me. And it is so unsettling.

I also cannot ignore some of the demographic statistics from this referendum.

Firstly, I am so sorry to Scotland and Northern Ireland who overwhelmingly voted to stay in the EU, but have been removed from it against their will. I hope to God Scotland don't choose to be independent if a second referendum occurs, but quite frankly, if they chose to leave the UK, I wouldn't blame them one bit.

Secondly, where remain votes are highest, immigration levels are also highest. Those that have experienced the direct impact of immigration on their day to day lives do not see it as an issue.

Thirdly, areas with the highest Brexit votes not only have some of the lowest higher education rates in the country, but also have the highest pensioner populations. And this really sucks. I am so desperately disappointed and angry that young people's futures, the vast majority of which voted remain, have been decided by the older generations who will not need to endure the consequences for as long as we have to.

But I think what I am most gutted about, is the political and moral trajectory of this country.

Yes I'm an emotional person. And many of you will think I'm being dramatic. But the societal, cultural and politics climate of our country has shifted hugely overnight and it isn't pretty. We have let arrogance, nostalgia and xenophobia win over unity, intellectualism and tolerance. I cannot look past the fact that Vote Leave ran a dishonest campaign. And I can't help thinking that many people may 'bregret' their vote in the coming weeks. Farage has already begun backtracking on his lies. £350 million pounds a week will not be spent on the suffering NHS. Immigration will not fall.

Neither campaign was perfect, and don't get me wrong, I understand why many voted to leave. But for me, it is unforgivable that we have endorsed the egos and game plans of individuals such as Nigel Farage, Michael Gove and Boris Johnson. Not to mention pleased the likes of Donald Trump, Marie Le Pen and Putin. Who have we become?! When did we decide to agree with those lunatics?! Extreme politics doesn't come marching over the hill with a huge banner that reads "we are fascists". It creeps into every doubt and insecurity you have about your country, and government, and exploits your rational fears to add you to its rally cry.

I am sorry that our incompetent past governments have pissed enough people off for them to not only blame problems of housing, social welfare and jobs on the EU, but to also use Brexit as a protest vote. And I am so sorry that they had to vote leave to express their discontent. They have been ignored for too long, but I don't think the outcome of this referendum is going to address their concerns. I watched a video of Brexit voters in Kent, expressing their delight at the referendum result: "people will no longer have to queue 5 hours to be seen by the NHS", "housing will be much better now". How disappointed they're going to be.

I can't begin to imagine the waves of panic rippling through immigrants, minority groups, UK citizens who aren't white and EU students in the UK right now. They do not feel welcome anymore. How low have we stooped, that we have managed to alienate such a vast majority of our current population? Gone are the days where the UK was considered a progressive and open society to be a part of. I am in no way saying all leave voters are xenophobic, but I believe the victory for leave has legitimise a lot of hostile feelings towards immigrants. We have taken an enormous step backwards, and we are going to pay the price, dearly.

Below are a collection of stories from people that I have heard personally, or seen on Facebook less than 48 hours since the result was announced.

A particular kind of politics which seems to foster division between people is on the rise, not just in this country, but across Europe and even America. And it is absolutely our duty to stunt its growth. Sadiq Kahn has already made a statement assuring all immigrants in London that they are welcome here. But the fact is, we shouldn't even have to assure them. They should know, and fully believe, that we love and need them here in this country. Economically it's gonna be very uncertain for a while, but these feelings of contempt and division need to be nipped in the bud immediately. We cannot afford the fault lines that are already showing get any bigger. It is imperative, now more than ever, that tolerance and unity prevails. 

Unless there is an unlikely decision to call for a second referendum, or politicians backtrack and ignore the advisory referendum result, we are going to have to buck up and deal with the fallout of this whole thing. We will have to work hard to make this work, and it is not going to be easy.

I for one will be doing everything I can to ensure that young people are not forgotten about in the negotiations. I want to play my part in minimising the impact that this referendum will have on young people, because democratically, young people should still be part of the EU according to the proportion of their votes. But if you do nothing else, please just make every effort to dispel the contempt towards immigrants, EU or international students, those with different skin colours and those of different religions. To stand by whilst they are made to feel unwelcome, victimised and isolated would be to become part of the problem. We might have left the EU and turned our back on a union encouraging togetherness and cooperation, but on a micro level, with regards to one another, lets break down these barriers and build bridges, not walls.