Live in Oxford. This was very, very unexpected - but I have a feeling it had to do with the weather as well, as that depressed turnout somewhat in the south and in London especially. But I think it comes down to the 'shy Tory' syndrome that we had last year, where a lot of people didn't come out as wanting to Leave (and, if you look at the map of the results in England - the heavy Leave areas are the non-affluent ones. That says enough about the state of the UK). What is not unexpected is that Northern Ireland and Scotland voted to Remain...I do have to wonder if that might mean future independence referendums. For NI in particular, having a securitized border with the rest of Ireland could be seen as a betrayal of the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement.
Yeah. Brexit doesn't help the rural Leavers, but it does hurt the people they feel are responsible for their depressed state. So they vote for it just to watch it all Burn. As an American looking down the barrel of a potential Trump presidency, that worries me greatly.
Procedurally, yes. But don't kid yourself. Brexit = Trump Conservatives and Remain = Sanders/Clinton Liberals. It's the same meal, only one eats their peas with a knife, and the other eats their peas with a spoon. have exactly fuckall to do with each other
Farage isn't enough of an example? :-) The majority of my info comes from my friends who work for the EU in Brussels, my friends who are journalists for The Economist and other reputable news sources, and my experience living in the region and working with the journalists there. Boris Johnson was just basically London's version of Emperor Norton... fun to watch his antics, but not really empowered to do anything. (The Mayor of London is a largely ceremonial role.) And yet, his campaign, driving around the south with his bus with blatantly wrong figures on it that had been debunked even by his own people, just gathered more and more support the more he lied. (Remind you of anyone?) Right-wing National Front nutbags supported Leave. Sober and thoughtful people and institutions supported Remain. Shit... Farage even said "the revolution has come without a shot being fired" two fucking days after one of his supporters shot and killed Jo Cox, while calling her a "traitor" for supporting Remain.
I lived through the Ska years, when the National Front was a HUGE problem in England, and destroyed football, music, and everything else they could get their hands on. I am seriously concerned that every Nazi-wannabe is going to see Brexit as a vote for them and their worldview...
Yes. The media doesn't speak for the people, it speaks at them. As it drifts further and further from center, the population doesn't necessarily follow -- but the factions that find themselves in disagreement with the "consensus" get quieter. For obvious reasons.