Welcome to campaigning for Remain in Ashington, Northumberland in June 2016. Picture it; Walking past boarded-up destitute homes adjacent to colliery row homes, with the sight of Woodhorn’s pit wheels in the background, as I come to Bill’s door. I’ve known Bill since I was five; he is a decent person who has lived in the area all his life. Bill is a Labour man, he’s always voted Labour. Prior to knocking on his door, I knew exactly what response I was going to get.
We said hello and the conversation went on. “Have you decided how you’re voting on the 23rd, Bill?” I asked. He said “Leave. 100% leave. Have you seen the state of this town? We’ve got nowt. No good jobs anymore, no good shops, all the pubs are closing, we have nowt. We need change”.
Bill was right, to an extent. The North East has had no investment in years and receives pennies compared to regions such as the South East. People in the North East matter less to central government than people who live in London - it’s a statistical fact.
Bill spoke for hundreds, maybe even thousands, of people I spoke to in the North East during the campaign. They wanted change. Change of some sort. They didn’t care what consequences leaving the EU would bring, because in Bill’s words “us in this area have got nowt anyway, what have we got to lose?”.
You’ve got to respect Bill’s decision - he’s been around longer than me and been through ordeals I have never dreamed of. But I found Bill’s reasons to vote Leave very interesting, because they all had very little to do with the EU. Instead, they were the result of failing consecutive Tory led Governments who have continued to cut vital funding in areas such as Northumberland, leaving us with a totally fragile NHS only still in existence due to hard working dedicated workers, a bare-to-the-bone police force with a severe lack of police officers and a woefully inadequate rail service charging up to a massive £400 to travel a few hundred miles on a delayed train.
The real problem is Tory Britain. A Tory Britain that has inflicted unprecedented cuts upon people up and down the nation.
A so-called People’s Vote will not solve the problems laid bare by this savage Tory government, it will only create more divisions throughout the nation whilst people at the bottom will continue to suffer on a monumental scale. The solution to this whole mess, in my view, is by starting from fresh. Let’s have a general election, let all political parties explain what stance they have on Brexit in their manifesto, and let the people decide that way. That means we can have a government with a clear mandate on Brexit, that will respect democracy and will undoubtedly kick this awful Tory Government into the long grass. The Tories have wasted two-and-a-half-years negotiating Brexit, and let’s face it, we’re still at square one.
You have got to respect democracy. If your side loses, that’s democracy. If your side wins, great, that’s democracy. But in my opinion, what is making our nation more divided than it already is, is high profile individuals saying to working class Leave voters, “I know better than you, let’s have a second referendum so I can get my own way”. That isn’t going to wash with people like Bill. It’s a very dangerous game to play and as a solid remain voter in 2016, I cannot support a “people’s vote” now.
Liam Lavery campaigned with the Labour In For Britain campaign in 2016 and Jeremy Corbyn’s second leadership election campaign