Wrong Vibes

I spent most of this week in London, rushing back by train on Thursday to the ballot box. The vibes in London, which has to be the greatest cosmopolitan city on Earth, were such that I was convinced that the result of the EU Referendum campaign would be a decisive vote for Remain. 

Totally exhausted from the long days walking pavements (London may be cosmopolitan but its concrete slabs are hard on the soles), I did not have the energy to stay up late to watch the early results come in and instead got up at 6am to dash downstairs and seek confirmation of the result.

Needless to say I was rendered speechless as shock gripped me and I realised that all the weeks of unsavoury rhetoric had not repulsed the electorate after all. An attempt to silence the extreme right in the Tory party had backfired and we are now committed to leaving the European Union after forty years.

Apart from the lunatic fringe, nobody seemed to be celebrating, not even the victors. Reality suggested that there was no obvious plan to move things forward and as the pound plummeted and the Prime Minister (when did I ever think I might be sad to see David Cameron go so quickly) announced his intention to resign, we appeared to be both leaderless and without direction. I guess it's at times like these that tin pot nations are taken over by military coups but apart from some soothing words from the Governor of the Bank of England (a foreigner taking a Briton's job apparently) shell-shock reigned supreme.

Of course there are all kinds of theories as to why the vote went the way that it did. Why did hard core Labour supporters vote against their party and with extreme neo-facists? Was it a vote against austerity without realising that we could now end up with a government that cares far more for the politics of capitalism than the current regime? Was it swung by mavericks who thought their vote wouldn't count and the establishment (along with virtually every so-called expert) would get its way regardless? Or was it, as in the case of one woman I saw interviewed, because the local council has closed the public toilets in her home town? I know sh*t happens, but seriously?

It doesn't matter; the fact is that we are leaving and suddenly life seems potentially scarier and more uncertain than it was. Retirement plans certainly need to be re-evaluated. A forever home in a warmer climate for instance would be burdened with issues; petrol costs are likely to increase making road trips more expensive; guaranteed increases in the State Pension (if I live long enough to reach an age when I can claim it) may be consigned to history; further austerity cuts (not immigration) could increase waiting lists for the NHS just as bodily parts begin to deteriorate. Without the EU will my children benefit from the workers' rights that have been implemented over recent decades or will they be chipped away at bit by bit? Will they have the advantages of living in a "green and pleasant land" or will the environmentally friendly policies of the EU be abandoned to allow farmers for instance greater freedom in lieu of their subsidies that may now reduce?

Curiously we have been told that the older the voter, the more likely they were to vote leave. The generation that  has never had it so good in part because of the EU has pulled up the draw-bridge and for what? Nobody seems to know the answer apart from some silver tongued privileged blokes who like being photgraphed with pints in their hands as though they speak for the common man whilst talking in riddles.

I certainly hope the electorate hasn't been completely hoodwinked; that Europe doesn't implode as a result of our decision to walk away from the table at a time when global pressures require more unity not separation; that a deep and prolonged recession can be avoided and, most importantly, that we can counter the hatred building up on our streets.

There's a lot of reshaping to do and not just for retirement.