The EU Referendum

Yesterday, the UK, voted in a referendum to determine whether the country should remain a member of the EU and, today, it was confirmed that we, as a nation, voted to leave the European Union. I know this is a controversial topic but I, as a 17 year old, want to express my views on the entire situation and my blog is somewhere that I feel as though I can (and should) do so. And, of course, I know that me sharing my opinions on this entire situation will not change anything and what's done is done but, to be completely honest, I just want to put my thoughts out there and express my own opinions in such matters.

The result was close, with the leave campaign winning by 1,269,501 votes with 17,410,742 voting in favour of leaving the EU. I can honestly, truly say that I have never been so disappointed in this country, and the way that it's people chose to vote. I one hundred percent understand that each and every person in the UK is entitled to their own opinion and their own vote and definitely agree that people should vote in favour of what they truly believe in but, unfortunately, I do not share the same beliefs as the majority of the United Kingdom and, I think it's safe to say, that the UK definitely weren't and aren't united when it comes to this debate. I cannot sit here and write this post and tell the internet that the majority of voters' in this referendum views are wrong but I do honestly think that leaving the European Union is a mistake. Maybe I'll end up being wrong, for my sake and for other young people's sakes, I hope I am wrong. I hope that everything works out in the end but I do not agree with the result from this referendum.

Obviously, this isn't a typical blog post for me and I do not generally tend to share my political views or opinions on my blog but I do genuinely feel so passionate about this situation that I am taking this opportunity to express my views and opinions - and that's what blogging should be about. If you do not agree with my opinions then that is okay. I do not expect people to agree with what I am saying. As I am sure you'll have heard plenty of times over the past few weeks, everyone is entitled to their own opinion and not everyone will share that opinion - and that's okay.

I am genuinely scared for my future. I am scared for the future of Britain. I am scared for the future of fellow young people in the United Kingdom. It's an awful, awful feeling of uncertainty and not knowing and not even being able to predict the future or what could happen.

I am disappointed in the United Kingdom, I am disappointed that people (some, not all) voted to leave the European Union because of immigration. Immigration will not change - I think people are forgetting that there is a difference between immigration and illegal immigrants. A lot of people voted out of the EU due to the masses of migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and foreign nationals entering our country. We, as a nation, benefit from migration. I hear people saying that immigrants are 'stealing' our jobs but are they? No. When you think about it, many immigrants do the jobs that you, we would not want to do. I hear people saying that they wanted to vote out of the European Union because they don't like foreign people coming into our country and speaking their own languages, and practicing their own culture in their own homes. That's only like us visiting another country and doing the same. It's a very hypocritical view. People say they voted out because countries such as Turkey are joining the EU. Please. Turkey, as a country, is nowhere near meeting the standards and regulations needed to become a member of the European Union. All members of the European Union have the right to veto! Turkey will not be joining the EU any time soon. It's crazy to me that racism and xenophobia exist in society today. It's crazy to me that people voted out of the EU purely due to immigration. Why do people not realise that immigration is beneficial to our country, our economy, our lives?
I am disappointed that people believe that leaving the European Union means we will 'take back control' of our country. I think it's extremely naive that people think this. We already had control! The border agency already had the right to refuse entry to convicted EU criminals. We already had a say on proposed EU legislation. We have only been on the losing side of this 2% of the time. We have our own currency. We already had control. Of course, I'm not saying everyone that voted out of the EU is a racist, or xenophobic, or uneducated or whatever you want to say. I'm simply expressing my own views. I am simply stating that some people voted out of the European Union for the wrong reasons.

The European Union was and is a very important institution. We need the EU. EU laws have prevented wars, kept peace in the world and genuinely benefited us massively over the past 40+ years. We need access to the single market. We need access to trade within the European Union. We need the stability and support from an organisation such as the EU.

The value of the pound significantly dropped this morning - in fact, the pound has fallen to levels that have not been seen since 1985. Our economy is going to be affected. It already has been affected. Day one and the value of the pound has dropped to it's lowest levels in 30 years. Think about the jobs, the wages, the general cost of living - think about how much of an impact this leave vote will cause to our day to day living. I saw plenty of people saying that they should vote remain purely because we wouldn't be able to have Magic Stars anymore but this is not a joke. We are going to be massively affected by this vote and our lives will be undoubtedly different. Travel, jobs, trade, immigration. There's potentially going to be an impact on pretty much every part of our lives - good or bad, there will be impacts. Yes, it may take a while for things to begin to change but, as the value of the pound dropping this morning proves, there's going to be huge impacts on our lives. And that's inevitable.

It's very interesting to me that Nigel Farage admitted that the Vote Leave campaign's claim of '£350m for the NHS' was a 'mistake' and confirmed that he cannot guarantee that the money will be spent on the NHS, despite it being one of the main points in the Vote Leave propaganda. Come on. It's not a mistake. It was printed on buses, leaflets and used as a main selling point in persuading people to vote leave. It was a lie. And, I'm sure that, if they (the leave campaign) cannot be trusted to be honest in their propaganda, how are we supposed to trust them with the future of the country?

I'm also disappointed that David Cameron has taken the decision to resign as Prime Minister. As much as I don't agree with a lot of his ideas etc. I do not believe that he should resign. David Cameron held the referendum, he knew that he might not win the referendum. But does that mean he should resign? I don't think so. It doesn't mean he's any less capable to negotiate deals and make the best out of this situation. Although, at the end of the day, if he doesn't feel he should be the one to do so, and he doesn't feel that he should be prime minister, then he should do what he feels best. But what scares me the most is that Borris Johnson or Michael Gove could become the people in charge of the situation, or even become the people to run the country in replacement of Mr Cameron.

Oh, and I'm disappointed in the people who didn't vote. The people who are able to vote but didn't vote. Those votes could've made a difference. Everyone should vote if they have the opportunity to vote. It's obviously not compulsory but I believe everyone with an opinion should vote. You could make a difference, I honestly cannot express how passionate I am about this topic. Take advantage of your vote and make a difference. Have your say in the world. Think of everything that people had to go through in order to get you the right to vote - particularly women. People died to give you the right to vote in events such as the referendum so I urge you to, please, take the opportunity to vote.

At the end of the day, everyone is entitled to an opinion. Everyone has free will. Everyone can and should express their opinions and beliefs. However, I wish that 16 and 17 year olds were allowed the vote for the EU referendum because, let's face it: the result of this referendum affects us most. I'm not saying that the older generation shouldn't be allowed the vote, but I believe that, just as Scotland did for their referendum, 16 and 17 year olds should have been able to vote. It's only fair to let the people who will be most severely impacted by such a historic decision have the vote but, unfortunately, this wasn't the case and the older generation voted for our future and we have no say in the matter. We're going to have to pay the price for this result and the decision to leave the European Union. And you know what? I would've loved to see the results if 16 and 17 year olds were allowed to vote because I genuinely think that the UK would have stayed in the EU. We're the ones that are going to have to suffer. We are going to have to live with the consequences. This was not a trial vote, this is serious. We are coming out of the European Union and there is no going back.

I want to say I'm shocked about the result, but I'm not. I've had this awful gut feeling for days that the nation would vote to leave the EU, and I was right. I'm not shocked. I'm not surprised. I'm just disappointed, and I think it'll take a while for it to sink in, and for people to (hopefully) realise that this was a mistake. But what's done is done. There's no going back now. We're leaving the European Union. All we can do is sit and wait and hope for the best. I hope things turn out better than I think they will. I hope things improve and, most of all, I hope I'm wrong in thinking this was a mistake. Good luck to each one of us individuals, good luck to Britain, good luck to the EU and good luck to the world. Let's hope for the best.